“A ship in harbor is a safe ship, but that is not what ships are for. Be a good ship.”
- Secretary of the Navy to Annapolis Midshipmen
Battleships are built for battle. What good is it to spend all of that time, money, and energy outfitting a battleship if it was never intended to join the battle? Battleships dock long enough to get refueled, re-armed, and re-stocked so that they can do what they were intended to do. Battleships were not built to sit in the harbor.
You and I are God’s vessels in the wide open seas of worldliness, materialism, selfishness, and anti-spiritualism. In some ways, you could call us God’s battleships. In other ways, you might call us God’s rescue boats. Either way, we were not equipped to sit in harbor. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) We do not come to harbor (worship) to escape the world, but to get refueled, re-armed, and re-stocked so that we may re-enter it. We are meant to navigate and patrol the seas; watching for the enemy and rescuing those that are lost and abandoned by the world. We are battleships, meant to engage the enemy (Satan); “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Eph. 6:11)
There are those that live under the false impression that sitting in harbor protects them from the enemy. I believe that history has proven that this is not necessarily the case. I truly hope that we do not live under the same false notions in our spiritual lives. We sometimes come to believe that coming to worship and refusing to engage the culture around us will protect us from adversity and spiritual warfare. That is simply not true! Satan can and will attack us wherever we are most vulnerable; in our selfish and worldly desires or in our quite and seemingly humble religiosity. The truth is, the longer we just “sit” in the harbor, the more vulnerable we become. In port, we relax and drop our defenses. Subconsciously, we believe this is the “safe” place to be. The smart, strategic enemy will attack his opponent when he is most vulnerable. And believe me, Satan is a smart adversary. When we are navigating the open seas, our defenses are up and we are alert! We should be patrolling, looking for those moments when Satan drops his defenses. We should engage!
IF we were meant to engage the culture, why does it so often seem that we shy away from doing so? It seems that many of us come in, attend a Bible class, sit through worship (notice I didn’t say participate in worship), and go home. Are we afraid? Are we apathetic? The church is not something we are supposed to go to. No! The church is something we are supposed to be! We are God’s vessels, God’s battleships. You can’t captain a ship when the crew is hiding below deck.
Be a good ship!
- Secretary of the Navy to Annapolis Midshipmen
Battleships are built for battle. What good is it to spend all of that time, money, and energy outfitting a battleship if it was never intended to join the battle? Battleships dock long enough to get refueled, re-armed, and re-stocked so that they can do what they were intended to do. Battleships were not built to sit in the harbor.
You and I are God’s vessels in the wide open seas of worldliness, materialism, selfishness, and anti-spiritualism. In some ways, you could call us God’s battleships. In other ways, you might call us God’s rescue boats. Either way, we were not equipped to sit in harbor. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) We do not come to harbor (worship) to escape the world, but to get refueled, re-armed, and re-stocked so that we may re-enter it. We are meant to navigate and patrol the seas; watching for the enemy and rescuing those that are lost and abandoned by the world. We are battleships, meant to engage the enemy (Satan); “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Eph. 6:11)
There are those that live under the false impression that sitting in harbor protects them from the enemy. I believe that history has proven that this is not necessarily the case. I truly hope that we do not live under the same false notions in our spiritual lives. We sometimes come to believe that coming to worship and refusing to engage the culture around us will protect us from adversity and spiritual warfare. That is simply not true! Satan can and will attack us wherever we are most vulnerable; in our selfish and worldly desires or in our quite and seemingly humble religiosity. The truth is, the longer we just “sit” in the harbor, the more vulnerable we become. In port, we relax and drop our defenses. Subconsciously, we believe this is the “safe” place to be. The smart, strategic enemy will attack his opponent when he is most vulnerable. And believe me, Satan is a smart adversary. When we are navigating the open seas, our defenses are up and we are alert! We should be patrolling, looking for those moments when Satan drops his defenses. We should engage!
IF we were meant to engage the culture, why does it so often seem that we shy away from doing so? It seems that many of us come in, attend a Bible class, sit through worship (notice I didn’t say participate in worship), and go home. Are we afraid? Are we apathetic? The church is not something we are supposed to go to. No! The church is something we are supposed to be! We are God’s vessels, God’s battleships. You can’t captain a ship when the crew is hiding below deck.
Be a good ship!
11 comments:
I thinking about your question and about the apathy we so often see or even are a part of ourselves as the Christians in the church. Perhaps many do not see the enemy or stay in the harbor because their perception about their spiritual life is more of a fairy tale, or at best an area of their life but not the focus of their life. I'm afraid when it comes down to it we are so busy with day to day activities that we fail to see anything other than this life. It is tragic because we say we love God, that we are Christians. We do all the "right" things but as you said in your other post...Have we given God our hearts, really. If we saw our true purpose on this earth as soldiers of Christ our whole perspective would change. Somehow "church" has just become something we do, like a game we play or a "part" of our life that we participate in like sports, clubs, jobs etc. Let me bold enough to say we have it wrong though! The very essence of who we are is grounded in the Lord, not this world. When we ourselves are sold on this, then our focus, passion and ultimate goals for bringing the lost to Jesus will send us into battle and out of the safe harbor. Infact, nothing will stop us!
Your post made me think of Pearl Harbor. Those ships were easy targets simply because they were in port. I would suppose that those sailors felt quite safe prior to the attack. If we think we will not be vulnerable to Satan if we stay where we feel safe, we are sadly mistaken. I also think we tend to see Satan's attacks as only applying to the "big" sins, when actually most of us are much more vulnerable to the sins of pride, apathy, and selfishness.
Who would want to go on a cruise that never left port? So why do we so often just board the ship in Christianity and never set sail? I know I don't want to miss the great adventure!
That is a really good metaphor with LOTS of applications in the church. It also brings up the question of which comes first - form or function?
Great post!! I see the conditions of apathy and cynicism as some of our biggest enemies for which we apparently have no real effective weapons.
I like your use of symbolism and the "call to arms"!!
I'm pretty sure I'm a house boat.
Hopefully my boys have not adopted the attitude of cynasism and apathy at their young ages. We did however talk this morning about things that keep them from wanting to share their faith with others and a possible solution. I'm wondering if this message from Acts can also be applied to the safe harbor problem.
Acts 1:8
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem. You will be my witnesses in all Judea and Samaria. And you will be my witnesses from one end of the earth to the other.
The devotional was about being witnesses for Jesus and overcoming those barriers that keep us from sharing our faith with others ( I guess keeping us in a harbor). The heart of this message for them was that when they are empowered by the Spirit they will not let fear, shame, or Satan keep them from loving people enough to share their faith. I told them to ask God to empower them. They might fail on their own but God's Spirit can supply what they need to be witnesses for Him now in their own unique way.
Do we believe that the Holy Spirit still empowers us?
I know I believe that the Holy Spirit still works through us. Leading us, comforting us, and most definitely "empowering" us.
Great point with Acts 1:8, but how can we read the book of Acts as a whole without witnessing the power of the Holy Spirit in the growth of the church...period!
Thank you so much, Kerrie! Great comment.
Luckily, the wonderful attributes of apathy and cynicism are reserved for us adults and our children are generally likely spared.
I very firmly believe that the Holy Spirit lives and works in us and works through us.
Kerrie, thanks for being devoted to teaching your kids like you obviously do.
This is a great post, my friend. I will admit that during this reading I continued being convicted of times when I have sat in the harbor for fear of the storms that I "might" face. I know that our God does not equip us with a spirit of fear but of power. Just imagine if we all felt the calling to go in to battle and fight for our God. I know for me, I have felt more connected to our father during those times of battle than when I lazily sat in the harbor, "refueling and relaxing."
I think during those times of habor-sitting, we let down our guard and feel "safe" in our duties of worship. It is comfortable, but when we venture out and face storms and enemies, we must leave our comfort zones and put in to practice what we have heard preached or taught. It is kind of like these diet books that I seem to be reading now. I can read and understand and "get" how the diet works, but it is not until I put the lessons in to action that I reach the goals I am striving for and see the results. When I let down from "working the program" or "fighting the battle" is when I see the progress stop and even a backward slide to the "way things use to be."
With all that said, I makes me think that if we try to be "comfortable" in our worship and "church life" that we will see a return to the "way things use to be." Is that what we want? Or, is it that we want to engage in this battle and win the war? War is dangerous and there are casualities, but with God on our side, who can stand against us?
Thank you Cory for challenging us with your words. Keep it up!
I apologize for all the posting but my brain won't leave this one alone Cory.
This may seem overly simplified but honestly during the times in my life that I'm so self absorbed in my own problems (or church problems/issues) my focus is not in reaching out to the lost/hurting people around me.
However I can say that during the times that I'm asking God to put people in my life to share my faith and show His love to, he does. It never fails and I never have to look very far. When I'm willing, God provides the opportunities and then His Spirit seems to provide the courage, incite and even words to follow through. I know it doesn’t come from me because at heart I’m fearful and insecure and most times the things I want to say don’t come out quite right.
The disciples love Jesus with all their heart, believed what he taught and were convicted enough to follow through with the great commission.
Just like the soldiers going to war must truly believe in the freedom they are fighting for… I believe that the motivation for going to battle for Jesus will come when we truly believe that we have something better to offer our world.
Thanks for taking the time to write this Cory and helping redirect me too!
Thanks to you, Kerrie, for sharing your thoughts and your heart. Your insights are wonderful. Keep it up!
P.S. - Thanks to everyone for sharing on this one. This discussion has been great!
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