Earlier this week I was chatting with a friend who is a very experienced and keen sailor. He had recently just finished a race from Sydney Harbour to The Gold Coast. His sailing expeditions also include competing three times in The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race – he’s just submitted his entry for this year’s race as well! When I say keen and experienced, I really mean it!
He once told me of a moment that he found really challenging where he was caught in a severe storm that caused waves to reach a peak of 5 metres; that’s big enough to wash over a single-story house.
I asked him what he did when he’s faced with such conditions. His reply was straightforward: if you can’t get to a safe harbour, you get as close as you can to the coast. Then you let out two or three anchors with plenty of rope! The anchors will catch on the rocks in the seabed and the slack ropes will allow you to ride the surf.
It was the phrase, “let out your anchor to catch on the rocks in the seabed,” that caught my imagination. The concept of being anchored made me recall something I had read a few weeks earlier.
‘Some people understand the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ as just another event of history, like the fall of Babylon, the death of Socrates or the assassination of a President – issues that may be of interest to some historians but cannot truly be said to matter much to those living in the world today. Others perceive the Easter story (where Jesus died on the cross and rose again three days later) as just a theological issue – of importance to those who are versed in theology but of no real consequence to ordinary people. The truth is however, that something was accomplished in those three days between when Jesus hung on the cross and he arose again, that has a direct relevance to every single person who is on this planet today!
If this is so, then the questions that must be raised and answered are these:
How does what happened to Jesus on those three days relate to us when we face real challenges in our lives? When a relationship breaks down. A family falls apart, a serious diagnosis has been made. Redundancy strikes, or someone spreads vicious rumours about you. What connection is there between what happened on the first Easter and when we’re faced with deeply challenging circumstances?
The whole Easter story can sound fascinating or even intriguing when the ‘sun is shining’ and there are no dark clouds on our horizons. But what about when the hurricanes of life strike, when the waves crash in on our beach of our lives and suck our joy out to sea?’
(Everyday With Jesus – March/April 2023 Edition)
I have come to understand, realise and know that the message of the cross relates to every possible human condition, but it is never as powerful and effective as when a person is engulfed in one of life’s storms. For this is what the cross is about! It is the story that a Man named Jesus, God’s Son, who allowed a storm in all its fury to break upon Him, that it may not break with all its fury on you and me.
John 16:33 captures this thought well: “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world!”
Jesus has provided strong anchor points for each of us which enable us to ride and overcome the storms of life and know beyond doubt the depth, breadth, height and length of God’s love for you and me.
How blessed are we to be able to know and experience this kind of love day in and day out?
May this thought encourage you this day, no matter what life has brought your way.
Blessings,
Ross Grace
Executive Principal