Jean Coleman's Blog - Posts Tagged "parable"
LOST ON THE BEACH
As a child I lived in New York City and there was no greater thrill than to spend a day at Jones Beach out on Long Island. It didn't matter that it was crowded or even that the temperature was hovering at the one hundred degree mark, there was no place that I would rather have been on a hot summer's day.
When I arrived at the beach with my parents, we found that a great multitude had also sought to escape from the city that day. The wonderful white sand was covered with men, women and children of all ages. Thousands of brightly colored umbrellas stretched as far as the eye could see. From an airplane, the beach must have looked like a patchwork quilt with the patterned umbrellas nestled so closely together. I can remember making our way through the crowd searching for a little patch of beach that we could claim as our own. Finally we found a space where we could open our umbrella and spread out our towels upon the sand.
As I started toward the water, my mother called after me, "Be sure you only wade along the edge of the beach. Daddy and I will take you in the deep water later for a swim," she promised. "Take a good look at our umbrella so you can find your way back to it without any trouble."
"Blue and white stripes with bright yellow fringe, blue and white stripes with bright yellow fringe," I repeated to myself as I walked toward the ocean with my little bucket in my hand. Maybe I would find some seashells.
I really don't know how long I waded there in the shallow water, but it was long enough to accumulate quite a collection of shells. Anxious to show my mother all my treasures, I looked out across the sea of umbrellas to find the one with blue and white stripes and bright yellow fringe. But everywhere I looked there were blue and white umbrellas. There were hundreds of them on the beach, maybe even thousands. I began to wander through the crowd seeking my umbrella and my parents, but they were nowhere to be found. For what seemed like hours, I walked along the beach searching. The tears began to flow as I became even more confused and addled. I visited dozens of blue and white umbrellas, but to no avail. I was lost! Very lost!
And then I saw the lifeguard stand. What a humbling experience it was for me to go to the lifeguard and ask for his help. Going to the lifeguard meant admitting that I was lost and that I desperately needed his assistance, but I had no choice. It had become obvious that I was never going to find my way safely back on my own. I can vividly recall going to the foot of his tall stand and calling up to the lifeguard. "Please help me! I'm lost! I can't find my parents."
How very kind and gentle the lifeguard was. Reaching down and taking my hand, he pulled me up until I was right next to him. "Now you just step up here on top of my chair, little lady," he instructed me. And when I was standing in place, he blew his whistle. Within minutes my father was there to claim me and take me back to the safety of our umbrella. I'll never forget how he wrapped me in his arms and hugged me that summer day when I was found.
Jesus is our Lifeguard and our Lifesaver. We have a choice of wandering around aimlessly, confused, without purpose and hopelessly lost, or we can humble ourselves and look to Him for salvation and help. His greatest desire is to see us reunited with our Heavenly Father and if we just ask, He will help us to find our way back to our Father's waiting arms.
When I arrived at the beach with my parents, we found that a great multitude had also sought to escape from the city that day. The wonderful white sand was covered with men, women and children of all ages. Thousands of brightly colored umbrellas stretched as far as the eye could see. From an airplane, the beach must have looked like a patchwork quilt with the patterned umbrellas nestled so closely together. I can remember making our way through the crowd searching for a little patch of beach that we could claim as our own. Finally we found a space where we could open our umbrella and spread out our towels upon the sand.
As I started toward the water, my mother called after me, "Be sure you only wade along the edge of the beach. Daddy and I will take you in the deep water later for a swim," she promised. "Take a good look at our umbrella so you can find your way back to it without any trouble."
"Blue and white stripes with bright yellow fringe, blue and white stripes with bright yellow fringe," I repeated to myself as I walked toward the ocean with my little bucket in my hand. Maybe I would find some seashells.
I really don't know how long I waded there in the shallow water, but it was long enough to accumulate quite a collection of shells. Anxious to show my mother all my treasures, I looked out across the sea of umbrellas to find the one with blue and white stripes and bright yellow fringe. But everywhere I looked there were blue and white umbrellas. There were hundreds of them on the beach, maybe even thousands. I began to wander through the crowd seeking my umbrella and my parents, but they were nowhere to be found. For what seemed like hours, I walked along the beach searching. The tears began to flow as I became even more confused and addled. I visited dozens of blue and white umbrellas, but to no avail. I was lost! Very lost!
And then I saw the lifeguard stand. What a humbling experience it was for me to go to the lifeguard and ask for his help. Going to the lifeguard meant admitting that I was lost and that I desperately needed his assistance, but I had no choice. It had become obvious that I was never going to find my way safely back on my own. I can vividly recall going to the foot of his tall stand and calling up to the lifeguard. "Please help me! I'm lost! I can't find my parents."
How very kind and gentle the lifeguard was. Reaching down and taking my hand, he pulled me up until I was right next to him. "Now you just step up here on top of my chair, little lady," he instructed me. And when I was standing in place, he blew his whistle. Within minutes my father was there to claim me and take me back to the safety of our umbrella. I'll never forget how he wrapped me in his arms and hugged me that summer day when I was found.
Jesus is our Lifeguard and our Lifesaver. We have a choice of wandering around aimlessly, confused, without purpose and hopelessly lost, or we can humble ourselves and look to Him for salvation and help. His greatest desire is to see us reunited with our Heavenly Father and if we just ask, He will help us to find our way back to our Father's waiting arms.
THE ANT FARM
When our children were small we used to have an ant farm that was populated by twelve very busy little ants. The ant farm sat on top of a small bookcase in the dining room and I was completely fascinated by these hard-working little insects. I would pull a stool over by the bookcase and spend literally hours watching them scurry about in their little world.
In the top of the plastic container where the ants lived was a small opening and every day I would drop in three small bread crumbs, a grain or two of sugar and a drop of water. As I would feed them, I marveled that the ants didn't even know that I existed. Yet, there I was faithfully supplying all their daily needs and watching over their activities.
Then one day as the ants were digging a tunnel far underground at the bottom of the ant farm, the dirt shifted and caved in behind the helpless ants. They were trapped and it appeared to be a hopeless situation. The ants ran back and forth in panic trying to find a way out. They even formed a little circle and held a conference, rubbing their antenna together in some sort of ant communication. There seemed to be no solution and no way of escape.
But I was looking at their little world from an entirely different perspective and I could see that all was not lost. There was a way out. Directly above the ants was another tunnel and only a few grains of sand separated them from freedom. But unfortunately the ants didn't know that their freedom was close at hand. I could see the way out, but they couldn't.
I know this may sound foolish, but I tried to tell them about the escape tunnel right above them. "Dig up, little ants," I pleaded, but they just didn't have the ears to hear. They were separated from me by a wall of plastic and didn't even know I was there.
Finally in desperation I took my finger and moved it next to them, tapping on the plastic wall and hoping to frighten them into digging in the right direction, but they continued to be totally unaware of my presence. If only I had been able to become an ant, I could have gone right into the ant farm with them and shown them the way of salvation. We could have communicated, but I was helpless and there was absolutely nothing I could do. I watched the ants die there in the ant farm one by one. It broke my heart.
The people here on earth live in an ant farm of sorts, going to and fro in their own little world. Multitudes go about day after day, totally unaware that God is looking on, providing for their needs and concerned about their well being. God is with us and the majority of people don't know or even seem to care. And like the little ants, many are trapped and buried under a pile of sin with apparently no way out. The world is crumbling around them and they are doomed to perish. The wages of sin is death.
But praise the Lord! God has always been there with His eye upon the world. God loves the world so much that He sent His Son into the world to offer Himself as a way of escape.
Although I had not been able to become an ant, God became a man! He came into our world, right into our midst and declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life. Follow Me and I will lead you to life everlasting." Yes, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us so that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus came to set the captives free
In the top of the plastic container where the ants lived was a small opening and every day I would drop in three small bread crumbs, a grain or two of sugar and a drop of water. As I would feed them, I marveled that the ants didn't even know that I existed. Yet, there I was faithfully supplying all their daily needs and watching over their activities.
Then one day as the ants were digging a tunnel far underground at the bottom of the ant farm, the dirt shifted and caved in behind the helpless ants. They were trapped and it appeared to be a hopeless situation. The ants ran back and forth in panic trying to find a way out. They even formed a little circle and held a conference, rubbing their antenna together in some sort of ant communication. There seemed to be no solution and no way of escape.
But I was looking at their little world from an entirely different perspective and I could see that all was not lost. There was a way out. Directly above the ants was another tunnel and only a few grains of sand separated them from freedom. But unfortunately the ants didn't know that their freedom was close at hand. I could see the way out, but they couldn't.
I know this may sound foolish, but I tried to tell them about the escape tunnel right above them. "Dig up, little ants," I pleaded, but they just didn't have the ears to hear. They were separated from me by a wall of plastic and didn't even know I was there.
Finally in desperation I took my finger and moved it next to them, tapping on the plastic wall and hoping to frighten them into digging in the right direction, but they continued to be totally unaware of my presence. If only I had been able to become an ant, I could have gone right into the ant farm with them and shown them the way of salvation. We could have communicated, but I was helpless and there was absolutely nothing I could do. I watched the ants die there in the ant farm one by one. It broke my heart.
The people here on earth live in an ant farm of sorts, going to and fro in their own little world. Multitudes go about day after day, totally unaware that God is looking on, providing for their needs and concerned about their well being. God is with us and the majority of people don't know or even seem to care. And like the little ants, many are trapped and buried under a pile of sin with apparently no way out. The world is crumbling around them and they are doomed to perish. The wages of sin is death.
But praise the Lord! God has always been there with His eye upon the world. God loves the world so much that He sent His Son into the world to offer Himself as a way of escape.
Although I had not been able to become an ant, God became a man! He came into our world, right into our midst and declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life. Follow Me and I will lead you to life everlasting." Yes, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us so that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus came to set the captives free
