Fair Winds and Following Seas

In Leonard Sweet’s book entitled “I am a Follower,” he works to inspire us to live out of our given identity.  That identity is as a Follower of Jesus who leaves a wake!

To follow a person means you are a following someone who is alive in you!  Everyone follows someone or something.  The only question is, who or what will we follow?  Everyone’s life vibrates to some tune.  The only question is, who is the singer?  The old sailor’s blessing went like this: “Fair winds and Following Seas.”  When you are sailing in the winds of the Spirit, there will indeed be “following seas.”  Jesus makes waves.  Don’t make a splash with Jesus.  Make waves. 

As the church we make waves in the Jesus spirit of life when we work to transform this world.  When we engage the hurts and hopes of people we are making waves.  When we seek to overturn systems of injustice we are making waves.  When we worship and serve out of passion and purpose we are making waves.  When we go to live faith in every sphere of our lives we make waves.  Those waves enable others to experience life.  Those waves make possible what was once thought impossible.  Those waves equip others to make waves wherever they find themselves. 

An old camp song verse had this line…. “waves of mercy, waves of grace, everywhere we look, we see your face.”  Indeed, we are called to see and experience Jesus in all we do.  Where is he most active?  Where does he need our hands and feet?  When we come alongside humanity and all of creation, we are to bring that witness of light and life to all.  We are called to see Jesus in each other.  It’s his waves of mercy and grace that make this possible!

Today is a day to ride the waves.  Today is a day to make waves.  Today is the day for the church to chart its course upon following seas.

As Soren Kierkegaard said, “A believer, after all, is someone in love.”  Love Jesus.  Love All.  As we make waves just watch what that love will do!

Peace and Hope,

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