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It happens every time we go to the pool. I will look at the water with an overwhelming desire to feel it's coolness and my own buoyancy. I will step to the edge as if ready to dive right in. And then I stop myself, head for the ladder or the stairs, and dip my toe in to check the temperature. The funny thing is, I already know it's going to feel cold, that's WHY we decided on swimming in the first place. Yet once I am faced with the initial shock, I back away and head for the deck chairs while my husband - without a second thought - leaps into the blue with my son shrieking for joy in his arms.
How often do some of us "toe-dip" and walk away from our faith instead of simply leaping in and enjoying the refreshment of the Spirit? How many of us have reached higher for a moment, been shocked by the change in spiritual temperature - a change that we sought out in the first place, and been so intimidated that we back away in to the false comfort of the secular.
It took me 26 years to take the plunge. 26 years I could have spent safe in the arms of the Father instead of in the arms of any random person who would use and/or abuse me. And, now that I've been swimming in the water for some time, I am finally allowed to see the "toe-dippers" that surround me. And I want to encourage them, to say "it's okay," or "take your time," or even "ease into it." The truth of the matter is that the slower you go, the harder it is to separate yourself from the stairs and begin to swim. You want to cling to the wall of secular living and sin just in case the water is too cool and you need to back out. The longer you take to submerge yourself in the water that washes away all sin, the harder and potentially more dangerous your journey may be.
I'm not saying this to scare anyone, but, as I type, prophecies are being fulfilled. I know that it sounds like some crazy sci-fi plot, but it is truth. Jesus was asked by His disciples when he would return. While He was clear that no human would know exactly when, he did give several events that would occur as signs of his kingdom:
He replied, "Don't let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Messiah,'s and saying, `The time has come!' But don't believe them. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don't panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won't follow immediately." Then he added, "Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven. Luke 21:8-11
Sound familiar? Haiti, China, Chile, random states in the US, shaken into awakening. Wars on every continent. Is ANY of this ringing a bell?
What I am trying to get across here is that Jesus is coming back, and soon. If you have already experienced a tugging within you - if you have already acknowledged that the world is too "hot" and it's time to start swimming, then it is time to take a running cannonball of faith into the water. There is no time for toe-dipping, wading, or clinging to the wall. Be bold and leap into the arms of the loving God that has been ceaselessly calling your name. Be brave and know that the Water was made just for you.
Friends, my deepest desire is to reach out and bring in as many saints to the Kingdom as I can find in my short physical life. I have found a treasure so great and so powerful that it has ripped out every dirty, guilty, angry, and violent nerve within me and replaced it with a sweetness and a love that I have never before known. I do not want anyone else to have to struggle and suffer when the treasure is right there for the taking. So I'm asking you to jump. Stop testing the water and instead fling yourself out over and into the waves knowing that there is relationship created in that moment that will permanently alter your life - but in the best way possible. Jump in, my friends, the water is mighty fine!
Father God, we thank you for the opportunity to leave the sticky, oppressive heat of the sinful life behind as you wash us with your purifying and refreshing love. Lord, we have dipped our toes in and walked away so many times, but today is the day we will leap. We will be like small children who sprint across the pool deck and launch themselves into the cool water while the others stand on the stairs or cling to the wall in fear. We surrender all to you in our moment of airborne joy. And when we hit the water, may the splash that results cause those still lingering on the edges to feel the refreshment and decide to jump in as well. Thank you, Jesus, for sitting at the right hand of the Father and speaking on our behalf. Thank you for sending Your Spirit to be the still, small voice calling to us in our dark moments, begging us to come to you and surrender. Father God, thank you for creating in us a desire to "swim" when others would rather just sweat and complain. Thank you, God, for getting us to the pool. And thank you for being there when we finally "jump in." Amen.
