Take the Plunge!

 

Photo by Hubert Stoffels 2009

Many years ago I went to a swimming hole in a pristine wooded area with a waterfall plunging into a refreshing stream. Some young people had a Labrador retriever puppy with them, and they took great delight in carrying him to the top of the falls, releasing him into the current, and letting him plunge to the bottom of the falls into the stream, where one of them waited with open arms to catch him.

Labradors love water, and he seemed to enjoy the experience. But even though he could see his master waiting below with open arms, he paddled all four limbs frantically the whole way down and even after he was safely in his master’s embrace.

I was by far the worst swimmer at school and at summer camp, and I know I tried the patience of many instructors who attempted, to no avail, to teach me to dive head first. Even though I could see where I was going and had my body aligned properly as I stood on the diving board, my head inevitably lifted the moment before I entered the water, resulting in a painful “belly flop.” 

One day the swimming instructor had me repeat this so many times that my chest turned beet red, and as a last resort, he picked me up and hurled me into the water head first. But in my stubborn refusal to submerge my head under the water, I belly-flopped yet again.

A popular beverage commercial urged us to “Take the Nestea plunge!” It showed a parched cowboy in the arid desert reaching for a can of tea and experiencing refreshment so profound that it was like falling backward into a cool blue swimming pool.

It was fear that kept me from diving head first even though I could see where I was going, and a survival instinct in the puppy that kept him paddling even though he didn’t need to. I can only imagine what it would be like to abandon all fear and plunge backward into a refreshing spring, not seeing where I would land and surrendering all control.

Yet that is exactly what we should do in our Christian walk. Trusting Christ means total surrender, with His perfect love casting out all fear (1 John 4:18), and His Living Water refreshing us so deeply that we will never thirst (John 4:10-14). Once we are born again by trusting in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), we are a new creature in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Once we are saved, baptism is a picture of “taking the plunge,” falling back into the water as a symbol of dying to our sin nature, then rising again to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). Christians should no longer be governed by the desires of our flesh and sin nature, but instead we should yield control of our life to His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25) Who enters us at the moment of salvation (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5.

But so often I am like the puppy, paddling frantically against the current of my Lord’s will instead of trusting His everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27) to shelter, protect and lead me. In my own flesh, I can do nothing (John 15:5), but with Him, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13). Peter even walked on water when Jesus willed that he do so, but the instant he looked at the turbulent storm instead of his Lord’s steady gaze, he began to flounder and sink (Matthew 14:28-31).

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), so ideally our journey in Christ should be more like the Nestea plunge rather than my painful experience of diving only when I can see where I’m headed. Only if we trust His infinite love (1 John 4:8-10), absolute power (Genesis 17:1, etc.), and complete wisdom (Psalm 139:1-18) can we fully experience the fountain of His blessings (Song of Solomon 4:15; Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13), being in His perfect will.

But if we try to do it ourselves, whether “it” is being saved, serving God, or loving others as He loves us, we are doomed to failure. How many people want to put off trusting Christ until they “clean up their act” or “get it all together”? How many new Christians put off witnessing to others until they learn “enough” about the Bible? Yet all that reasoning is futile because none of us is capable of doing anything in our own strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).

As Bible-believing Christians, we know that we are saved by God’s freely given gift of grace through our faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is nothing we can do to earn our way to Heaven, and any attempt to do that is an insult to God, Who gave His only Son as the perfect Sacrifice to pay for all our sins (John 3:16; Romans 3:23-25; 1 John 2:2). On the cross, He said “it is finished,” (John 19:30) because he paid our debt in full, once and for all, to reconcile sinful man to Holy God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

The tremendous relief many feel at the moment of salvation, far more refreshing than any earthly equivalent of the Nestea plunge, comes from leaving our burdens of sin and guilt behind and releasing them to Him, freeing us to receive His great blessings. In our gratitude, relief, and worship, it is natural to want to serve God by good works (James 2:17-26; Philippians 2:12). But there lurks the trap of feeling we need to work to please God or to figure out on our own how to serve Him.

Praise God that His love is infinite, so He can’t love us any less even when we fail Him, and He can’t love us any more when we work hard to please Him. As a loving Father, He places no pressure on us, yet sometimes we collapse under the self-imposed pressure to try in the flesh to work “for” Him. But paradoxically, the harder we work, the less we trust in Him. Only complete surrender to His will (James 4:7) and faith in His power to accomplish His good work through us (1 Corinthians 15:58; Philippians 1:6) allows His perfect plan to flow through our life (Ephesians 2:10; Jeremiah 29:11).

Saul of Tarsus learned that the hard way. As a religious zealot, he thought he was pleasing God by persecuting and killing Christians, for he did not accept Jesus as the Son of God. Finally, when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he recognized that He was God and surrendered completely to Jesus Christ as Lord of his life. The glorious light of Christ blinded him, perhaps in part so that he would have to rely on faith and not on his own vision (Acts 9:1-18).

Jesus gave Saul the new name of Paul, and more importantly, He gave Him new life, just as He does to everyone who asks Him (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). Except for Jesus Himself, Paul is the best Biblical example of what God can do through a fully surrendered life. Yet even Paul had the daily battle with his own desires and his own flesh (Romans 7:12-25) and had to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) to die daily to self (1 Corinthians 15:31).

May He empty us of self, leaving us as a conduit through which His Living Water can flow to others. May we remember that it’s not about what we can do, but about Who He is and what He does through us! May we not be afraid to take the plunge headlong into the rushing current of His will, for the reward of a surrendered life is blissfully exhilarating!

© 2015 Laurie Collett

After the Storm

Photo by Richard Collett 2023 

A few days after Hurricane Idalia hit Florida, we set out for our beach house with some trepidation. Although landfall had been considerably further north, and there were no immediate reports of damage, we really didn’t know what to expect from the storm surge. Neighbors had posted pictures of water breaching the sand dunes, passing under the beachfront homes, and crossing the street to the homes bordering the lagoon.

But thankfully, the homes are all raised on stilts; the winds had not been severe; and we found no structural damage to our home. As we had feared, the sand dunes that protect the beach from erosion had been leveled by the waves, and there were no signs of the brown rabbits and mourning doves that used to make their homes there. The sea turtle nests were washed away with the tide, and the pounding surf had dumped piles of sand underneath the homes.

From the photos, we had expected that the beach itself would have disappeared, covered in water that would prevent a stroll to admire the views and search for treasures. But to our astonishment, the beach was suddenly three or four times wider than it had been on our previous visit! Apparently the storm surge had dredged up sand from the ocean bottom and deposited it on the shore!

In fact, the excess sand had buried beach chairs, a grill, hose and trash can under our home. A rope placed across the path to the beach, once at waist level, was now by our ankles! When I thought of repeated attempts by the county to “renourish” the beach by dredging and depositing sand on the shore, at considerable taxpayer expense and resident inconvenience, I wondered if God were laughing (Psalm 2:4; 59:8), for He accomplished the same thing overnight, and much better at that!

Reassured by our findings, I began our stay with my favorite ritual of an early morning swim. The water that had been almost like a hot tub on our previous visit was now pleasantly refreshing, most likely from the cold rain that fell during the storm. But this day was sunny, the sky a brilliant blue with only a few wispy clouds.

As I began my aquatic exercise I noticed three such clouds overhead that transformed before my eyes. The cloud on the left became a rippled V-shape, like fanning flames, and the one on the right took on an elongated cumulus shape, glowing as it was backlit by the sun.

The cloud in the center was at a first a simple, empty cross, on which then appeared the body of Christ, crucified and slumping, a mournful expression in His eyes. But as I watched, the cloud changed and grew, so that His body was draped in a robe, His arms outstretched and head lifted as if He were ascending, and the cross was no longer visible.

I continued gazing in amazement, but within moments, the three clouds had dissipated into a few indistinguishable traces. To me, this had been a clear depiction of the Trinity (Luke 3:22; 1 John 5:7): the fanning flames representing the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4); the glowing cloud God the Father, Who appeared to Moses as a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4) and to the Israelites as a pillar of fire over the tabernacle (Exodus 13:22; 40:38). The crucified, then ascended figure was Jesus Christ the Son, Who died to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), that all who trust Him would have eternal life (John 3:16).

Physically and spiritually renewed, I joined my husband for a stroll on the beach. What a delight to see so many live coquinas, which had been absent on an earlier visit except for their cast-off shells, busily burrowing into the sand and resurfacing with each new wave! And this prolific bounty had attracted many shore birds: terns, plovers, sandpipers, and even a night heron. Evidently the cooler waters after the storm had again allowed the sea to teem with new life.

Beachcombing was plentiful also, with piles of multicolored scallop and cockle shells, iridescent pen shells, delicate white augurs, and sea potatoes, also known as heart urchins, each with star-shaped clefts once housing the sea urchin’s gills. The sea had churned up many fossils: shark’s teeth and chunks of sea turtle shell and mammal bone.

After a peaceful night’s sleep, soothed by the calming sound of the surf, I again returned to the pool to enjoy some quiet time with the Lord while swimming and admiring His creation. The sun was dazzling, transforming the water into a sparkling mosaic in shades of aqua and robin’s egg blue. The fronds of a palm tree shielding my view of the sun danced in the gentle breeze.

As if emanating from the sun, white clouds rippled, like furrows in the blue field of the sky. Suddenly a round white cloud to the right of this display became illuminated by a rainbow, which was not an arc as rainbows usually appear. The cloud became a glowing orb of rainbow hues – violet, indigo, red, orange, and gold, as if it were the aura surrounding the throne of Christ the King! (Revelation 4:3).

What made this even more astounding was that it had not rained for several days; there was no rain in the forecast; and the humidity was only about 50% -- much lower than normal at a Florida beach. It was clearly a rainbow, but like none I had ever seen before, spectacularly beautiful and occurring in highly improbable conditions! I was so thankful for and blessed by this reminder of God’s promise never again to destroy the earth by water (Genesis 9:13-17).

Sadly, many storms are still brewing as we approach the peak of what is forecast to be a busier than normal hurricane season. Our prayers are with all those affected by hurricanes or in their potential path. Yet, how reassuring to know that our Triune God is with us, no matter what storms we may face; that He speaks tenderly to us through His creation; and that we can depend on His presence and His promises! 

© 2023 Laurie Collett 

 

Reflections

Photo by Mark Lemmon

On a recent hot summer morning at our favorite beach I began my day with a private swim in the pool. The cool blue water exhilarated me as sunbeams danced along the shimmering aqua surface, as if fairy dust sparkled all around me, perhaps a glimpse of how magical the light will appear in Heaven.

As I start on my first lap, I am momentarily startled by what looks like a giant python barreling through the water, headed straight for me! But then I realize that it is only a reflection of the tall, thick, straight palm tree at the other end of the pool, its serpentine appearance an illusion created by the waves my swimming makes in the water.

Although this is the first time I have experienced this python effect, I have often noticed how this palm tree resembles a cross, with one frond going straight up from the trunk, and two at right angles to it, growing in a cruciform structure. When the sunlight shines behind it from my viewpoint, as it did on this day, it resembles images of the empty cross on which our Savior was crucified, the brilliant light symbolizing the power of His resurrection.

How strange that the reflection of this powerful symbol of eternal life could be transformed into an evil, deadly serpent! It brought to mind how our perception of God’s Word, truth and promises can be distorted by our external and even internal environment. We may be discouraged by storms and trials, or guilt and regrets from our past may haunt us, shrouding in gloom our understanding of God’s truth (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Once we are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), we believe in our heart that God is Who He says He is and will do what He has said He will do. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and cannot change, for He is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

And yet we sometimes doubt that He will honor His promises, for we still have our sin nature to contend with (Romans 7:14-25) even though we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). The old man, or flesh nature, sometimes responds with fear or doubt depending on circumstances that hinder our perception and obscure our faith (1 John 3:8-10).

Satan is well aware of how he can tempt us to doubt God, as he did Adam and Eve, bringing the curse of sin on all mankind (Genesis 3). His strategies include the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Desire to fulfill our craving for beautiful things or fancy toys, or sexual or other fleshly perversions, or elevating ourselves in our minds above others or even above God, distorts what we know to be true.

Our enemies, and Satan’s allies, are the world, the flesh, and ourselves when we fail to give Jesus Christ pre-eminence over our lives (Colossians 1:18).

I believe the image of the cross reflected as a serpent was a warning to trust God’s Word, which is always true (2 Timothy 3:16), and not the lies of the devil (John 8:44). But I also believe it symbolized God’s plan of salvation, foreshadowed by the brass serpent God told Moses to construct in the wilderness (Numbers 21:8).

This was the forerunner of the caduceus, or two serpents twisted together around a pole topped by wings, that now symbolizes healing by the medical profession. I believe the wings are a reference to Jesus, the Great Physician, Who is risen with healing in His wings! (Malachi 4:2).

During their wilderness wanderings, the Israelites were plagued by deadly serpent bites – a type, or symbol, of sin, which stings at first and ultimately kills. But if the bitten victim looked up at the brass serpent lifted into the sky, he would live (Numbers 21:6-9), symbolizing eternal life in Heaven for the sinner who looks to and trusts Jesus as the antidote for sin and its penalty of death.

The image I experienced in the pool could therefore represent rising from a sinful state, in which we are intimidated and held in bondage by Satan, that old serpent, to the truth and life found only in Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Romans 3:25) and rose from the dead to give His children eternal life (John 3:16; 17:3).

May we remember that our perceptions, feelings and thoughts are sometimes inaccurate and deceptive, but that God’s Word and its truth never changes!

© 2022 Laurie Collett