Who Needs A Lifejacket?

18 Jan Who Needs A Lifejacket?

Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Thought for the Day: “When I am weak, then I am strong!”

A family friend loves sailing. For him, taking his boat out onto the open water offers a chance to unplug from the busyness of his life and reflect. That’s why he rarely takes others with him and goes out alone… with his black labrador. But, on the rare occasions that others come along, they notice something odd – no matter what anyone else is doing, the dog is wearing an oversized neon life jacket for the duration of his boat ride.

Why? While the black lab is a great swimmer, our friend knows that if something ever happened to the boat out on the open water, his dog would be unable to see over the waves, panic, and drown. The life jacket is an acknowledgment that the dog is less powerful than the might of the open water.

As he wrote to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul acknowledged that when we think we know everything, we get ourselves in trouble. If we think we are all-powerful, we have moments where we are reminded that we aren’t. Rather than being a problem for us, it is actually comforting. As Paul puts it, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” On our own, we are less powerful than sin and the forces of wickedness in our world. But when we acknowledge our weakness, we experience strength through Christ.

A dog can’t choose to be humble and put the jacket on by itself but needs its owner to do it for them. Once we recognize that we can’t see over the waves in our own life, we place our trust in Jesus. When we humbly trust in Christ, He becomes our lifejacket!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David