Did you ever go to a public pool or attend a pool party and not see at least one kid - or adult for that matter - doing a cannon ball into the water? (For those of you wondering how or why a kid would throw black, iron balls into a pool, you really should get out a little more!) The cannon ball I'm referring to is a diving technique in swimming. Unlike competitive diving techniques, however, its purpose is to maximize rather than minimize splash on water entry.
Lesson 1: Leave Your World Wet
The cannon ball is dreaded by the readers and sunbathers surrounding the sparkling blue abyss, but to the exerciser of it...pure joy. The bigger the splash and the louder the noise the better. Usually the award is given to the larger or should I say "bigger-boned" individuals. But on rare occasions the skinny kid triumphs with his unconventional and unorthodox style that leaves the other competitors splashes look like rain drops. If you've ever been there and seen it, you know what I'm talking about. No one knows where he came from or who his parents are. He just shows up - from a bush or a trap door on the pool floor...? Who knows, but he leaves as he came, leaving the pool half empty.
Do you remember when you made the decision to follow Jesus? Wasn't it similar to jumping into a pool? Didn't you just want to jump into all that God had, making the biggest splash you could? Not because you wanted people to notice you, but because you wanted people to notice Him. You were tired of living the way you were living, the way people expected you to live - not making any waves or disturbances. You heard and believed the story and accepted it as your own. And you were grateful, thankful, and you wanted to give back. You wanted others to experience what you did. You wanted to (forgive me for the corny phrase) make a splash for Jesus. But something happens. Time goes on, and we become tired of treading. We start cramping and become pruney, and we forget. Our focus shifts from Him to us.
Matthew 19:27
Then Peter said to him, “We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”
If we're honest we've probably found ourselves asking God the same question from time to time. We need to remind ourselves why we jumped in to begin with. We need to remember that we're surrounded and immersed in God. He's everywhere and in everything. We can't get the roles and stories reversed. The moment we believe that we deserve the grace and mercy given to us is the moment we start sinking. We can't forget the view from the edge, the feelings we felt as we launched ourselves off of what we knew was safe and certain. We can't forget how the truth hit us as we made contact, the effect it had on us and others as they watched the water fly. We can't forget the way our past sins just washed away and sank to the bottom along with everything else that we couldn't carry anymore. We can't forget that when we came up to the surface to take our first breath, God himself breathed his very life into us yet again, this time to dwell in us forever. Our question to God shouldn't be "What do I get?," but "What else can I give?"
We cannonball because a dive just doesn't affect people the same way. Sure people will ooh and ahh but they won't feel what we're jumping into. We cannonball because there's no special technique to learn, which keeps the applause off us and more on the effects and aftermath of the collision. We cannonball because no lift-off from the edge leaves us happier or freer, which is what people need to see most.
So are we in or are we out? Are we in it to look good or are we in it to make Jesus look good? Are the people that surround us, the bystanders, feeling what we've jumped into or have we gotten too caught up in the style and form of our delivery? When we draw our last breath, when we leave the pool for the last time, who will be grabbing a towel because of us? May we never forget that God is big and beautiful and so are His plans and purposes for us. But may we also not forget that we have to leave our beach chairs and celebrity magazines to be a part of it. We have to believe that the story that He has written for us is ours to live out, and that it's just as good as anyone else's. His desire is that we leave our worlds a little wet with him, that we share our splash. So go ahead, disturb some nappers and sunbathers.
Matthew 19:28-30
Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
Lesson 1: Leave Your World Wet
The cannon ball is dreaded by the readers and sunbathers surrounding the sparkling blue abyss, but to the exerciser of it...pure joy. The bigger the splash and the louder the noise the better. Usually the award is given to the larger or should I say "bigger-boned" individuals. But on rare occasions the skinny kid triumphs with his unconventional and unorthodox style that leaves the other competitors splashes look like rain drops. If you've ever been there and seen it, you know what I'm talking about. No one knows where he came from or who his parents are. He just shows up - from a bush or a trap door on the pool floor...? Who knows, but he leaves as he came, leaving the pool half empty.
Do you remember when you made the decision to follow Jesus? Wasn't it similar to jumping into a pool? Didn't you just want to jump into all that God had, making the biggest splash you could? Not because you wanted people to notice you, but because you wanted people to notice Him. You were tired of living the way you were living, the way people expected you to live - not making any waves or disturbances. You heard and believed the story and accepted it as your own. And you were grateful, thankful, and you wanted to give back. You wanted others to experience what you did. You wanted to (forgive me for the corny phrase) make a splash for Jesus. But something happens. Time goes on, and we become tired of treading. We start cramping and become pruney, and we forget. Our focus shifts from Him to us.
Matthew 19:27
Then Peter said to him, “We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”
If we're honest we've probably found ourselves asking God the same question from time to time. We need to remind ourselves why we jumped in to begin with. We need to remember that we're surrounded and immersed in God. He's everywhere and in everything. We can't get the roles and stories reversed. The moment we believe that we deserve the grace and mercy given to us is the moment we start sinking. We can't forget the view from the edge, the feelings we felt as we launched ourselves off of what we knew was safe and certain. We can't forget how the truth hit us as we made contact, the effect it had on us and others as they watched the water fly. We can't forget the way our past sins just washed away and sank to the bottom along with everything else that we couldn't carry anymore. We can't forget that when we came up to the surface to take our first breath, God himself breathed his very life into us yet again, this time to dwell in us forever. Our question to God shouldn't be "What do I get?," but "What else can I give?"
We cannonball because a dive just doesn't affect people the same way. Sure people will ooh and ahh but they won't feel what we're jumping into. We cannonball because there's no special technique to learn, which keeps the applause off us and more on the effects and aftermath of the collision. We cannonball because no lift-off from the edge leaves us happier or freer, which is what people need to see most.
So are we in or are we out? Are we in it to look good or are we in it to make Jesus look good? Are the people that surround us, the bystanders, feeling what we've jumped into or have we gotten too caught up in the style and form of our delivery? When we draw our last breath, when we leave the pool for the last time, who will be grabbing a towel because of us? May we never forget that God is big and beautiful and so are His plans and purposes for us. But may we also not forget that we have to leave our beach chairs and celebrity magazines to be a part of it. We have to believe that the story that He has written for us is ours to live out, and that it's just as good as anyone else's. His desire is that we leave our worlds a little wet with him, that we share our splash. So go ahead, disturb some nappers and sunbathers.
Matthew 19:28-30
Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
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