Tag: boat

Our Anchor

Read Hebrews 6:18-20

I am not one who has done a lot of sailing or spent much time on a boat. A pontoon or speed boat on a lake is the majority of my experience. I also spent one afternoon during college on a sailboat with a friend. Despite my level of inexperience, I do understand the purpose of and the value for an anchor on a boat.

Anchors are important not only for individuals on boats but also for times in life. While life’s  anchors are not physical in nature, they serve the same purpose of keeping one steadfast as the waves of life batters us.

The most reliable life anchor any of us can have is found in our Lord. Ray Boltz wrote a song about the value of this life anchor.

Casting Nets

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)

Most of us wish to relax after putting in a full day of work. We desire to come home, have some dinner and then engage in one of our favorite past times to unwind from the day. Some evenings we have home projects to complete or events to attend before we can begin our relaxation time. The last thing we wish to do is return to work activities.

In the passage from Luke today, we hear Jesus requesting Simon to return to the work he has been doing all night long. Jesus first asks Simon to let him borrow his boat to go out in the water so he can create some space from the growing crowd. Simon obliges Jesus and Jesus teaches a while from the boat to the people on the shore. After Jesus finished teaching, he told Simon to do something which we all would hate if we were Simon, to start working again. Simon politely explains to Jesus that they had been fishing all night but caught nothing. Simon clearly did not wish to work anymore, he wanted to finish cleaning the nets and rest. While he is not mentioned, we can assume that Simon’s brother, Andrew, is in the boat with them. Simon and Andrew cast their nets once again. This time instead of catching nothing, they caught so many fish that their partners, James and John, have to assist them in hauling all the fish into the boats. Simon realizes Jesus’s power and Simon’s unworthiness to even be near him. Jesus tells Simon and the others not to be afraid of him. He then explains that from now on they will not fish for fish but for the souls of humanity. All four begin to follow Jesus.

Most of us can imagine Simon’s thoughts when Jesus tells him to cast the nets one again. Simon was tired after a long night of work. Simon was frustrated because all the work of casting the heavy nets and pulling them back in over and over had produced nothing.Then comes this man who not only wants to be taken out in the boat, interrupting completion of the last chore of the day which would be followed by a meal and rest, but then says to throw the nets back in the water for nothing. We can relate to Simon because that is how we feel about our fishing for Jesus. Our attempts to invite people to worship, help on service projects, or hear about our faith can feel futile. We get to the point where we want to stop fishing, stop reaching out to others, and just enjoy practicing our faith in our own way. But Jesus says to cast our net one more time, we may be surprised with the results.

Faith on the Water

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

One spring day when I was in college, a friend invited me  to join him on a sailboat which students could check out from our college’s recreation department. I had never been on a sailboat before but thought it would be fun to be on the lake. After getting the boat from the recreation shed, we carried it to the lake and proceeded to get out on the water. The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze. I followed my friend’s instructions as we tacked and jibed across the lake. We were in the middle portion of the lake when the breeze died. Since it was a beautiful afternoon, we decided to just float until the breeze returned. Then we noticed some dark clouds moving towards the lake from the west. Having no oars with us and being a few thousand feet from any shore, even farther from where we began, I started becoming worried. My friend assured me that the wind would return before the storm moved in and we would get back. Short bursts of wind allowed us to move some but still did not get us close to shore. My friend now became concerned and we began to paddle with our hands. The storm was approaching as we paddled. Right before the rain began, we made it close enough to shore to get out of the boat. We tugged it along by rope until we reached the college. I learned what it is like to be on the lake with an approaching storm.

We hear of a storm when the disciples and Jesus are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee in today’s passage. The disciples became fearful as the waves and wind increased. Jesus is not concerned as he sleeps in the boat. The disciples wake Jesus who promptly commands the storm to calm. Then he asks the disciples why their faith did not alleviate their fear. They were amazed by his power.

Having faith in my friend’s sailing ability led me to go out in the boat with him. My trust in his abilities waivered as the storm approached while we stranded one the lake. It is easy for us to have faith when everything is going well and as planned. Our faith can waiver though when an impending storm comes into our lives. We can question the Lord’s ability to keep us safe. During such times it is important for us to recall the many times we have been kept safe by the power of our Lord. Remembering these times will assist us in strengthening our faith. The Lord truly does have the ability to keep us safe in the storm.