Hope: A night at the beach
by Kevin McCane
Photo Credit: Johnny Torrey
A young man sits at the waters edge, hugging his knees to his chest. He is crying softly. The night air is chilly and the man’s body begins to shudder. Darkness envelopes him, the moon obscured behind the clouds. Not a star shines in the evening sky.
What causes this mans pain is known only by him. Feelings of desolation and isolation wash over him and he cries out to the ocean. "Why"? The word skims across the ocean and is lost in the waves.
Lifting up his head and glaring at the water, he sees a glow of light against the horizon. Quickly wiping the tears away, he can make out a figure as the light slowly grows brighter. Glancing at the sky above, the man notices that the moon is still locked away behind a cover of clouds. With a sense of awe, he realized the figure is beckoning to him. Standing up, he slips his shoes off and steps forward. The water is warm and soothing. Not daring to take his eyes off the figure lest he disappear, he continues to walk forward.
Abruptly, the man realizes that he can no longer feel the sand beneath his feet. He stares at the water in astonishment and at the same time sinks down below the water. Immediately his mind goes to the story of Peter walking on the water towards Jesus. Fixing his eyes once again on the figure in front of him, he takes another step forward. This time he is prepared when the water once again supports his weight. The distance between the two men rapidly becomes smaller. The young man runs across the water, never taking his eyes off of the figure. Finally the two come face to face and the young man realized that the image before him is not much older than himself. Watching the man in front of him, the man is suddenly ashamed of all the things he had been thinking of on the shore.
His voice cracks as he cries, "I'm sorry". The older man says nothing in return but merely wraps the man sobbing before him in his comforting arms. He whispers the words, "You are forgiven." Then, even though there is no one around them for miles, he leans forward and whispers something in the young mans ear. With these words the figure vanishes and the sky becomes black once again.
The young man finds himself lying on the beach a few hundred feet from the shore. Rising to his feet, the man decides he must have been dreaming. Coming here tonight had been his escape. It was a way to block out the pain that cut at him like a knife. It was not a physical pain. No. He could deal with that. It was an emotional pain that he hoped he would never experience again.
He relives the feeling of abandonment when everyone let him go without looking back. The anger and resentment build up inside him once again but slowly, a thought builds and he realizes something. He feels the sand crumble between his toes. He feels his damp pants leg clinging to his ankles as he walks. …and he smiles. His eyes dart out across the water looking for something that is no longer there, and his heart is filled with joy and hope.
The ocean struggles to once again reclaim something that it can never own. Each day it fights its way up the beach, only to relinquish its victory shortly afterwords. I gain hope, because even though the ocean fights a battle it can never win, it never stops, it never stops trying. And therein lies my hope.
Even though I may lose battle after battle, I will keep going. Because that is how God designed his creations. We are destined to die for our sins. But we continue because God gave his son 2000 years ago so that we can have hope.
When we quit trying to overcome the insurmountable wall of sin that separates us from God instead of reaching out and accepting the gift of salvation that he gave us, all hope is gone.
But, each day, as we grab hold of the promises God gave us, hope begins anew. Hope is reborn.
So if you have no hope today, take a walk on the beach. Watch the ocean try once again to do the impossible.
Remember that it has accepted defeat every day for thousands of years.
Remember that the ocean still hopes to achieve the impossible. And remember that because Christ shed his blood for you, that same hope can be yours. …and you can face another day.
Eternity is waiting.
And God is asking you to share it with him.
What causes this mans pain is known only by him. Feelings of desolation and isolation wash over him and he cries out to the ocean. "Why"? The word skims across the ocean and is lost in the waves.
Lifting up his head and glaring at the water, he sees a glow of light against the horizon. Quickly wiping the tears away, he can make out a figure as the light slowly grows brighter. Glancing at the sky above, the man notices that the moon is still locked away behind a cover of clouds. With a sense of awe, he realized the figure is beckoning to him. Standing up, he slips his shoes off and steps forward. The water is warm and soothing. Not daring to take his eyes off the figure lest he disappear, he continues to walk forward.
Abruptly, the man realizes that he can no longer feel the sand beneath his feet. He stares at the water in astonishment and at the same time sinks down below the water. Immediately his mind goes to the story of Peter walking on the water towards Jesus. Fixing his eyes once again on the figure in front of him, he takes another step forward. This time he is prepared when the water once again supports his weight. The distance between the two men rapidly becomes smaller. The young man runs across the water, never taking his eyes off of the figure. Finally the two come face to face and the young man realized that the image before him is not much older than himself. Watching the man in front of him, the man is suddenly ashamed of all the things he had been thinking of on the shore.
His voice cracks as he cries, "I'm sorry". The older man says nothing in return but merely wraps the man sobbing before him in his comforting arms. He whispers the words, "You are forgiven." Then, even though there is no one around them for miles, he leans forward and whispers something in the young mans ear. With these words the figure vanishes and the sky becomes black once again.
The young man finds himself lying on the beach a few hundred feet from the shore. Rising to his feet, the man decides he must have been dreaming. Coming here tonight had been his escape. It was a way to block out the pain that cut at him like a knife. It was not a physical pain. No. He could deal with that. It was an emotional pain that he hoped he would never experience again.
He relives the feeling of abandonment when everyone let him go without looking back. The anger and resentment build up inside him once again but slowly, a thought builds and he realizes something. He feels the sand crumble between his toes. He feels his damp pants leg clinging to his ankles as he walks. …and he smiles. His eyes dart out across the water looking for something that is no longer there, and his heart is filled with joy and hope.
The ocean struggles to once again reclaim something that it can never own. Each day it fights its way up the beach, only to relinquish its victory shortly afterwords. I gain hope, because even though the ocean fights a battle it can never win, it never stops, it never stops trying. And therein lies my hope.
Even though I may lose battle after battle, I will keep going. Because that is how God designed his creations. We are destined to die for our sins. But we continue because God gave his son 2000 years ago so that we can have hope.
When we quit trying to overcome the insurmountable wall of sin that separates us from God instead of reaching out and accepting the gift of salvation that he gave us, all hope is gone.
But, each day, as we grab hold of the promises God gave us, hope begins anew. Hope is reborn.
So if you have no hope today, take a walk on the beach. Watch the ocean try once again to do the impossible.
Remember that it has accepted defeat every day for thousands of years.
Remember that the ocean still hopes to achieve the impossible. And remember that because Christ shed his blood for you, that same hope can be yours. …and you can face another day.
Eternity is waiting.
And God is asking you to share it with him.
