According to the Red Cross, approximately 50% of the population cannot swim well enough to save themselves from drowning. I’m in that 50%. I’ve taken lessons multiple times and tried to learn on my own, but I just can’t make it work. I always end up sinking to the bottom of the pool. So I have a very healthy fear of water. I know my limits, I do everything possible to avoid being in a situation where I could drown, and I have a rudimentary plan for just about any scenario where I might find myself in water over my head. My number one rule is this: stay out of deep water.

But have you ever felt like you were drowning in life—where no prevention plan could have stopped it from happening? I certainly have. In those times it’s as though, no matter which way you turn, you are surrounded by a heavy fog of trouble with a solid shore nowhere in sight. You could be an Olympic swimmer, and still not have the strength to find your way to safety.

Then, out of the fog, someone throws you a lifebuoy—actually, more than one. Hallelujah! Not only will you be saved, but you have your pick of devices. There’s a large, shiny, orange buoy with grab lines, and even a flare gun attached, just in case you need to call for more help. Then, there’s a red rubber inflatable buoy, maybe more of a child’s toy than a life-saving device, but it looks clean and sturdy. And a hard foam ring that has obviously seen better days. It may have been painted red and white at one time, but the paint is peeling in big chunks, and a grimy rope is trailing off one side. Which one do you choose?

Okay, you are in a life-or-death situation, but you’ve got options, so taking a moment to consider them is the prudent thing to do.

That shiny new orange one looks a bit slick, but wow! It comes with all the newest safety features, and it’s obviously expensive, so whoever threw that one probably has a nice boat to go along with it. The inflatable buoy might work. It’s probably easier to grip than the orange one, but it’s just a basic ring. And, finally, besides being grungy, the hard foam ring actually has a fishy smell, too. And that rope! It has slimy seaweed wrapped around it. No way you want to have to touch that.

You grab the shiny orange one. The other two lifebuoys float away, and now all you have to do is wait to be rescued. That was easy. Now breathe a big sigh of relief as you wait patiently for your rescuer to come through the fog and pull you out of the water.

You wait. And wait. And wait. Fire the flare gun into the thick fog. And wait some more. The shiny buoy is starting to feel too slippery to hold onto and those grab lines are cutting into your hands. What is taking so long?

Suddenly you realize the problem–there is no lifeline attached to this buoy! The only lifebuoy with a lifeline attached is long gone. Although you are no longer drowning, you are still alone, adrift in rough water, being tossed in the waves and carried by the tides. All you can do is hold on as tight as you can, hoping the fog will lift and someone will see you before dehydration takes over or a hungry shark shows up for his lunch.

The world offers us so many slick fixes to the troubles we face in life. If we will just compromise our values or morals, we are told, not only will many of our problems easily disappear, but rewards will follow. Like that shiny orange buoy that had extra safety features attached, in case the original rescue effort didn’t work out, there are contingency plans to count on. But, that’s like firing a flare gun into thick fog. Even if someone sees your faint call for help, it’s likely they are in the same fog as you, unequipped to come to your aid, and possibly in need of assistance themselves.

So maybe you are thinking the red rubber inflatable ring would have been a better choice. It wasn’t fancy, but there was definitely nothing slick about that one. It looked practical and dependable. But it didn’t have a lifeline attached to it either. When we make personal decisions that are based on nothing but logic and common sense, both good, practical and dependable qualities to have, we are being shortsighted. That’s how to handle just what we can see in front of us, keeping our head above water, and hoping our lifebuoy doesn’t spring a leak before we can paddle ourselves to an unseen shore.

Now let’s look at the third option—that grungy, smelly, hard ring. You know … the one with the slimy lifeline attached. That’s what following Jesus often looks like. The world looks at Christians like we are crazy for choosing to live a life it views as boring, dumb, unenlightened, and even evil because we don’t endorse its ever-changing agenda. Even our own human nature sometimes tries to convince us that life would be so much better/cleaner/easier, if we just told that white lie, looked the other way, or simply denied our faith out loud while keeping it secretly in our hearts. But, when we truly choose Jesus, we need to grip that hard ring at any cost, getting our hands dirty, and our nostrils filled with the occasional fishy stench. We need to cling to it as if our life depends on it. Because it does. And in the process we are developing endurance and strengthening our character. Our suffering for Christ’s sake is never for nothing.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

 

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son” Romans 5:3-10 NLT.

No matter how difficult hanging on is in this life, Jesus, who already proved His love for us by dying on the cross, is now continually pulling us in—getting His own hands dirty for us, if necessary. He is taking up that slimy lifeline, hand over hand, to draw us closer to safety. Home. Our eternal home. He doesn’t leave us drifting in an open sea, hoping against hope for a rescue that will never happen. And He does this over and over and over again, without ceasing, bringing all the chosen saints safely home. No need to polish that buoy or attach a spiffy new line. In the right hands, that old lifebuoy works just fine.

Is there a lifeline attached to your buoy?