My grandson, Knox was very excited about going canoeing...until we got in the canoe and pushed off. He was suddenly crying and hollering that we were going to tip. He was very afraid and wanted to get out. His Dad took us back to the dock to try and calm him down. As soon as he had the chance Knox was out of the canoe and running away up the dock. When they got him back his Dad talked to him about asking God for courage and they prayed together. He settled down pretty quickly and we were off.
Being a four hour plus trip we tried to keep him occupied with watching for eagles and the beauty of the nature around us. But it wasn't more than a couple hours and Knox was saying how bored he was. This continued off and on for the rest of the trip. I'm not surprised that he was bored. I can't fault him for that. Just sitting in the bottom of a canoe isn't all that exciting for a seven-year-old. What surprised me was how quickly it all became boring for him. He went from being freaked out(his term, not mine) to being bored. I jokingly suggested that we could start rocking the canoe and he wouldn't be bored any more. He didn't think that was the solution.
I started thinking about this turnabout and what it says about the Christian life. When we are born again and begin a new life with Christ everything is new and at least a bit scary. We don't really know what to expect. There are steps of faith like baptism, sharing your testimony, getting involved in some ministry. Each one presents its own challenges and we grow! Every time we step out with God we find the new adventure at least somewhat unsettling.
But it seems that before too long we start to get comfortable in our faith. We settle into our routines and it can even become boring. What once thrilled us and even scared us a little now gets no reaction at all. What a tragedy! We need someone to come along and rock the canoe. I'm beginning to think that some discomfort and even some fear is much better than boredom in the Christian life. We need to keep stretching because it's the only way we will keep growing. If we are only doing the things we know we can easily accomplish we don't really need God or need to trust Him. We feel comfortable and secure...and bored.
My daughter pointed me to a website especially for teens, but I think it has something worthwhile for all of us. It is called The Rebelution. The site says "The battle cry of the The Rebelution is just three words: but it's an explosive concept: Do Hard Things." They make the point that as kids we all had many hard things to accomplish: walking, talking, spelling, reading, etc. These skills took hard work, but we did them and we grew. But as we grow older we quit pushing ourselves to do hard things and usually there is no one else to push us so we just stop trying and we stop growing.
God, please rock my canoe enough to shake me out of my boredom and remind me that I can't do this without You!
1 comment:
Great posting! I love how God uses children to point out life lessons that we, as adults, may have "forgotten" or glossed over as we deal with our "important, adult lives"...
I am constantly challenged by the ministry work God has led me to with the students at our church. Yesterday one of our teen boys was baptized; he had spent the previous week helping out with VBS at our church, and participating at a week-long summer youth event at a partner church in our neighborhood. He said he felt God was calling him to stand up and make a public proclamation of his faith, that he might be a better example to his peers and the younger ones he had been working with. Seeing this young man inspired and convicted by the moving of the Spirit is a push for me to work hard in my own walk as well.
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