Our family has thoroughly enjoyed our move out to Western Pennsylvania. Besides the wonderful people we've met, we have been awed by the natural beauty through all the seasons (well…OK…we haven't really been through a FULL winter yet, but we have high hopes!). But, there is one part of Jersey that there is simply no comparison to in Western PA.

The Jersey Shore.

Part of the lack of comparison is all the personal memories that I have growing up. We'd go down the shore for a Saturday or weekend and just enjoy the beach and ocean. Some of my fondest memories of my grandfather are of him spending hours in the water. He'd take me along with him out into water far too deep for me to stand. The ocean all by itself holds a certain fear for a small boy-it is powerful with its mighty waves and its ability to pull you out where you don't have the strength to stay above the water. But in grandpa's arms, those fears were overwhelmed by a sense of protection-even fun as we jumped over the waves together.

Like every other kid, we'd play games with the water. One that was popular was the game 'Avoid the Water.' If you've ever been to the ocean, you've probably played this game. As the water recedes you run after it but then as the next wave comes in you run out to avoid getting touched by the water-if you don't get wet, you're winning. It's a natural game that every kid plays-without teaching them, my own kids have played this game with the ocean.

We don't ever completely grow up…we just change who we play games with. Sometimes, we play this game with God. Whether it's because of tragedy in our life, rebellion, or a myriad of other reasons, we all find ourselves trying to make sure we don't get wet with God. We avoid Him. We try to avoid the circumstances-both the good and the bad-that He allows to occur in our lives. If we are really childish, we will believe that we have outrun Him. We'll think, 'I haven't gotten touched by pain because I have outrun the pain.' Or, 'I don't have to listen to what God says to do in my life because I can outrun His reach.' These delusions of getting away from God fade away when we realize that God decides how far the waves come. We don't outrun the heartbreak in our lives. We don't outrun His discipline. If it fails to reach us, it is because God has commanded, "Thus far you shall come, but no further."

But we also imitate the child's game in running at the water. How we want to get close to God…but not too close. We don't want the fear of being swallowed up in His power and His pull. And so we run to Him, but not into Him. We try to get as close as possible, but then, as He turns to move towards us, we run away again.

This is why I think we fear the Holy Spirit. We fear Him because we realize that if we throw ourselves into Him, He will swallow us up. His power is beyond anything that we can imagine. The power of the Holy Spirit can crash in on us and pull us out into the deep. It is fearful to give our whole lives over to God. Part of us will drown because part of us must die in order to live in Him. But that is the promise that God gives us. Throw ourselves into Him and a part of us will die. But throw ourselves into Him and through Jesus the only part of ourselves worth keeping will live forever.

Jesus, like grandpa, can bring us into the deep water that is the Holy Spirit. He shows us how to swim in the ocean-how to even have fun in its ebb and flow. How to be soaked with God. As we consider in the coming weeks what it means to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, may I challenge you to throw yourself into the arms of Jesus-let Him take you into the deep parts of the Holy Spirit so that you might learn how to swim in His power.

2 comment(s) for “The Games We Play With God”

• 1. Brenda Chien on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 9:28 PM

  As a young child, I was always fascinated by the water - we often camped near lakes in Upstate NY, and we were at the ocean a few times. Something about standing on the shore looking at the vastness of the water pulled at me in a way I could never describe. I remember writing a poem in 3rd grade (for an assignment) about the power of the water, not understanding the feelings I had. There was part of me that wanted to dive in and swim all the way to middle of the huge lake - to be as "in" it as I could possibly be, yet part of me was so fearful of its vastness that I knew I could never do it. It took me about 30 years to realize this was really about my feelings toward God - an irresistable desire to go deeper, and yet a fear of the unknown, the depth I didn't understand. THis is so much like the water - and not coincidental that the Holy Spirit is often associated with water.
  
  Your picture of running from the waves is such a great one - once you got wet thought, didn't you want to go all the way in? The feel of the water is so enticing, and I think we have a natural pull, even amidst the fear of the power of those waves beyond, to go in all the way once we've felt the water on our toes. It just takes that first dip. Never thought about the fact that going in all the way IS dangerous - we do die, but through Jesus the only part worth keeping will live. I think that there is so much more to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit than any of us imagine.
  
  Brenda Chien

• 2. Alec Chien on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 6:22 AM

  Then there is the husband of the first writer who is deathly afraid of water! No he drinks it, and yes, he does bathe and shower too. I am talking about swimming. The man goes backward when he tries to swim forward. But mainly, the more pronounced direction would be downward.
  
  BUT - GOD can work with that too.
  
  This man realizes he'd die sooner than the gal who loves to go deeper and deeper. This poor soul knows he definitely will go deeper and deeper. In no time at all he would be no more, going deeper and deeper.
  THE LORD usually tells this writer, that's the point, I want you dead!
  
  The wonderment of GOD, Who can work with such extremes. Why not, HE created them those ways! GLORY TO HIM INDEED.
  
  Alec Chien