The Lifeguard

 Lifeguards are trained aquatic professionals who oversee swimming areas like pools, waterparks, oceans, and lakes. They are in the prevention business of keeping swimmers safe. They are constantly scanning swimmers to see if anyone gets into trouble and if so the lifeguard springs into action. A good lifeguard is always on high alert when on duty. They search for distressed swimmers and do not wait to be invited to help when they spot trouble. 

Jesus is like a lifeguard. Constantly scanning society and ready to rescue distressed and dispirited people who get themselves into trouble. I was in trouble as a teenager. I was an angry teenager, the by products of physical and sexual abuse as a child. I wanted to be a good person, but down deep in my heart I was not good. My private life was a trainwreck. I dabbled in things that were destroying me. I was drowning in sin. Jesus saved me. He rescued me from the sewage of sin that pulled me under. 

He is always on search and rescue missions with people all over the world. I am forever grateful on a Thursday night in October of 1983, when He came after me throwing the life preservers of grace, mercy, and salvation. There is a popular song where some of the lyrics identify Jesus as our rescue story. He certainly is mine. I am also eternally thankful that He did not give up on me. He could have walked away from me thousands of times. He persevered. His love persisted. His grace prevailed. 

In a few minutes, we will invite little children to our VBS. I want Jesus to rescue them like He did for me. To save them from the sin and shame I endured as a child and teenager. I want Him to save those drowning in dysfunctional homes like I survived. I want Him to do more than rescue children. I want Him also to rescue moms and dads transforming whole families. That's what Jesus does because like a lifeguard, He is always scanning and searching for those who need a rescue story. 

God Is Not Done

 God is not done working on us. We have need for improvement. For some He firmly takes a chisel and hammers off some rough edges. For others He takes a chainsaw to make massive cuts. All of it because He isn't done with us yet. He is completing His good work in us according to [Phil 1:6]

Have you ever left a project incomplete? We start things with great enthusiasm and then the tasks gets too hard or we become too bored. God is not like that. He finishes what He starts. He invests in each person whom He saves. He paid a high price for our redemption in the death of Jesus. After that, He will work on us to make us more like Jesus until our earthly journey ends. What a wonderful promise. 

When we sin and fail, He does not give up on us. When we rebel against the loving pressure from His hands to mold us, He does not throw on the trash heap. Lovingly, skillfully, and patiently He applies pressure where it is needed, He squeezes sometimes painfully to get us to conform to His intelligent design. What He begins He finishes. 

This is good news if you feel like you are failing in serving Him. You may sin. You may grow stiff in your resistance against His designs. You may even try and run away and make so many bad decisions your life feels like a disaster. He does not give up. He is persistent in His desire to conform us to Jesus. His grace is sufficient to forgive our sins. His wisdom is greater than thinking we know what is best. His love compels Him to chase us down when we try to flee from Him like Jonah did. 

Sometimes His hands are heavy to break us and shape us. Other times, His hands are gentle graciously grinding and filing areas that need attention. He is dedicated to us and doing His good work in us to the very end of our lives. When we fail Him we often feel condemned. Those feelings do not come from our Father. He said that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. [Rom 8:1] He is forgiving. [Ps 103:12] [I Jn 1:9] 

We need to keep ourselves in the Father's hands. When we walk closely with Him, we will begin to reflect Him in our actions and attitudes. We also must remain yielded to Him. We must remain soft and moldable in His hands. To resist Him is to grow harder. When that happens, He has to break us to make us pliable again. He is not demanding perfection of us, because none can be perfect except Jesus. He does want us to remain in His hands and to remain soft and pliable. If we do this for our lifetimes, we will be more and more like Jesus. His finished work in us will happen when we die and get to heaven. Then He will finish what He started in us. I can't wait to see the finished product of you.