Sunday, May 25, 2014

Seaweed


Walking on the white sand beach near Destin, Florida this morning, I noticed some seaweed about ten yards from the shoreline.  At first I thought it was just a small clump about 20 yards long.  But as I looked I realized that it stretched for 500 yards along the beach.  The scene took me back many years to a similar day on the beach with my wife and children.  My son, who was about 6 at the time, and I had decided that we were going out to the sand bar when we noticed a stretch of dark seaweed between us and the sand bar.  We walked the beach trying to find a gap, but there was none.  I finally grabbed his hand and said, ‘son, sometimes you have to step right into the dark stuff to get to the other side.’ 

This morning as I reflected on the memory it hit me that my son, at 6 years old, could not have seen the clear water on the other side of the seaweed.  I was taller and had a different perspective.  I could see that the seaweed was only three or four yards wide.  He could not have seen what I was seeing.  I knew that we would make it.  He didn’t.  He trusted me.  But the message to me this morning was not simply about a son’s trust.  The message was about the perspective of a father, of our Father. 

I have no doubt that our Father feels the fear and pain, and perhaps the guilt of our hearts as we find ourselves in the midst of various forms of seaweed, some of which we have created ourselves, and some of which is real only in our broken imaginations.  In Jesus, our Father, and the Holy Spirit have identified themselves with us as we are in our darkness.  Yet our darkness is not darkness to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  They know us in the light of life, from a higher vantage point.  Our Father does not see us as we see ourselves in our seaweed. He sees us from a different perspective.  He sees us from the perspective of the gift that he gave to us “in Christ Jesus, before the time of the ages” (2TIM 1:9), and from the perspective of who he has made us in his incarnate, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Son.  He knows who we are. 

This morning, our Father asked me to rest in his vision of me, to take sides with him against the way I see myself, and against the way that I feel about myself as I do so.  I think I heard him say that I was free to live in the seaweed if that is what I wanted.  But in that comment I also heard the question, ‘why?’  And somewhere in that moment Jesus reminded me of my favorite verse, “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you” (John 14:20).     

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the reminder!

Richard Harstone

mikerough said...

Thanks, Baxter!

Amy B said...

Excellent, and oh how I wish I were in Destin today! That's where we took all my childhood vacations, in a rickety cabin up on the bayou in Santa Rosa.
And BTW, Ernie was my all time favorite on My Three Sons! :) I laughed out loud the first time I heard you preach about that.

C. Baxter Kruger, Ph.D. said...

Amy, we were on the bayou in Santa Rosa last evening. Ernie is my hero.

Kaybe said...

I love beach analogies. It's all about perspective right. I'm on Manasota Key in SWFL right now.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Yes. He is so for us. My words get lost here... so just bear with a fool as i try to get it out :)
The brightness of His Joy and great heart enable us to walk through the darkness we cannot understand.
He recently held my hand as i let go of a deep fear that i did not really even know i was holding onto. And as i stepped over that piece of "seaweed" the most beautiful part is that all i really felt after letting go, is more of His acceptance and begin to know more of His great heart towards us all. Oh what joy to simply know Their Love and that i am wrapped up in It!

Vau said...

Love this. You're awesome.

Unknown said...

Great stuff, Baxter. Miss you!!

S. J.

Sinking said...

In the thickest seaweed it is often impossible to swim, tread water, or even keep your head up. It feels like I'm drowning. The seaweed is alive and like the Kraken pulls me into the depths.

Anonymous said...

Oh what beautiful writing..I just found you the other day ..at the best time..Im reading and watching all you have..I have searched and searched for the Father and Im beginning to to see the edge of his light..Blessing sent your way Baxter..( my hubbys people live in Mt. Olive)