|
Day 23
A Day at the Beach
By Al Menconi
When
I was in college in the early ‘60s,
one of the most popular places to surf
was the Wedge in Newport Beach ( California
). The Wedge got its name because of
a uniquely placed sandbar that caused
a wave to break from two directions at
once. With the synergy of two waves together,
it had a tremendous force that exploded
onto the beach. It was great ride, but
on big days only the best surfers were
able to master its shore break.
The Wedge usually had bigger surf than
the surrounding areas, but this day was
exceptional. An off-shore storm was pushing
the waves to an unheard of 15’ to
18’! That can be the size of the
winter surf on the North Shore of Oahu,
but not at Newport !
The shape was perfect and my friends
seemed to be having a great time cutting
across the curl and bailing out just
before it crashed. Since I’d never
been in bigger surf than a couple of
feet over my head (for you non-surfers,
that’s still a pretty big wave),
I wasn’t about to try my luck on
a wave nearly five times as big. That
would be nuts!
But the more I sat there and watched
the girls admire the guys in the water,
the braver I got. It had the same shape
as the waves I was used to. Just because
it was bigger than usual, didn’t
mean it was too big for me. It’s
like riding a bicycle. If you can ride
one, you can ride another. I convinced
myself I could handle the Wedge.
The waves came in sets of eight or
ten, and then it would be calm for a
few minutes before the next set came
in. When it got calm, I swam out to join
my friends and got ready to catch the
next set. After a few minutes, somebody
yelled, “Outside!” which
meant a new set was rolling in. I swam
into position anxious to kick into the
curl. That’s when I saw it! The
little swell began to grow. And grow!
And GROW!! When it got to be the size
of a two-story office building, it started
crashing down on me. I just knew I was
going to die!!
I had to get out of the way quickly
or I was dead in the water – literally!
I dove down as far as I could go and
let it break over me. I was frantic!
As I came up for air, all I could see
was another green office building getting
ready to squash me like a bug. I dove
under again. I did this for every wave
in the set. Each time I tried to catch
the white water wake of the crashing
wave, but the undertow pulled me further
out. Finally after struggling against
the sucking undertow and diving under
the waves for nearly an hour, I made
it back to shore where I collapsed exhausted,
but alive.
My day at the beach, reminds me how
today’s entertainment treats God.
They look at His majesty and power from
a distance and treat Him with little
or no respect. When I see a program or
hear a song that mocks God or ignores
His presence, I know they’ve been
sitting on the beach watching Him from
a distance.
Don’t let the entertainment media
fool you into thinking that the God of
this universe is someone you can “ride
in on your body-board.” He is not
The Man Upstairs, nor is He a God you
can create in your own image. He is the
Lord of all, the Creator of all. He loves
us and invites is to draw close to Him – He
beckons us like the waves. But don’t
mistake the soothing beauty for a lack
of power. When you draw close, you begin
to understand why He deserves your awe
and reverence.
I once failed to have proper fear and
respect for the Wedge. I won’t
make that mistake again. I hope you don’t
sit on the beach of life, thinking of
yourself “more highly than you
ought” ( Rom. 12:3) – ignoring
the power of His Word and the majesty
of His Name. When you draw close to Him,
as I drew close to the majestic waves
at the Wedge – you’ll begin
to understand what the Bible means when
it says we are to fear and reverence
the name of the Lord.
Reflection: How do
you view God? Do you give Him the respect
He deserves? Have you gotten close enough
to feel just how awesome and powerful
He truly is? Are you finding difficult
to stick with TheFull Tilt
Media Challenge? If your relationship
with God is too casual or too distant,
it may be one reason why.
Response: Try turning
EVERYTHING off for a short time for a
few days, so you can focus on nothing
but your relationship with God through
His Word each day this week.
Verse of the Day: Psalm 98:4-6
"Shout for joy to the Lord,
all the earth, burst into jubilant
song with music; make music to the
Lord with the harp, with the harp and
the sound of singing, with trumpets
and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout
for joy before the Lord, the King." (NIV)
Not only do these verses reinforce
the verses we used yesterday, but they
add to them. We are commanded to shout
for joy, burst into jubilant song, and
use a variety of instruments to do it.
The implication is that it is okay to
have volume in our songs to the Lord.
In case you missed the point, David includes
a blast a ram’s horn. The Illustrated
Davis Dictionary of the Bible indicates
that a ram’s horn was used simply
to add noise; there’s no melody
with a ram’s horn! Just noise!
Christians often complain that loud
Christian music or music that isn’t
totally melodious isn’t reverent
and therefore, shouldn’t be sung
or listened to by Christians. To those
people, I say this: Did you ever try
to shout quietly? And a blast from a
ram’s horn, if you listened to
it too long, could eventually damage
your ears. I agree that not all Christian
music is quiet, melodic, or reverent.
But does it have to be?
I believe the Bible teaches that there
are a variety of purposes for Christian
music and a variety of sounds to convey
its messages. If you can’t hear
the lyrics, try reading the lyrics while
you listen to the song. You might be
surprised how “clear” the
lyrics become when you read along with
the song. A word of caution, just because
it comes from a Christian label or the
artist claims to be a Christian doesn’t
mean that their music fits your need
or desire. Christian music will help
the listener see life from a godly perspective.
If you don’t like what you hear,
find some music that helps you see life
from His point of view.
[Home]
[Previous]
[Table of Articles]
[Next]
[About FTMC]
[Contact Us]
|
