Sailing by Faith

Have you ever stood on the shoreline and watched sailboats off in the distance.  They seem so graceful, how they catch the wind, how they seem to move with such apparent ease.  They appear to be at one with the elements and the environment, as if in some sort of dance with nature.  If you have ever actually sailed, or been a passenger on a sail boat, you can appreciate just how dedicated devotees of sailing are; sailing is a discipline, and a way of life, perhaps even a religion.

Good sailors keep their boats well looked after , they keep their sails and boats in fine order, looking after their instruments, keeping everything in good working order.  Sailors need to ensure that they have means to repair what might break, and they should store adequate supplies as well as taking precautions against the natural dangers of the sea.

One of the things that sailors do, is they harness the power of the wind, a power that is not their own, and they, for a short time, make it their own.  The wind blows, the tides change, and those who sail must use their own navigational ability to harness that force of wind to direct the vessel toward its destination.  Sailors learn quickly that they cannot control the wind, nor the tides, but they can borrow from their power.  Some sailors will complete their journey having done well, others will make numerous nautical errors, and some, perhaps most, will be somewhere in between.

I am reminded of a book I picked up off my mother’s shelf, called At Sea with God, by Margaret Silf.  She compares the spiritual journey to a sailing journey, and I think she is onto something.  In the 11^th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, it speaks about the nature of faith, and how others, who have gone before us, used their faith as a guide.  These people are not unlike sailors.  They too have harnessed a force that is not their own, and allowed that force to direct and orient their lives.  Our lived faith is an exercise in harnessing this mysterious energy which is the source of faith, God, and allowing him to propel and direct us.  Our relationship with God, like the sailor’s relationship with the wind, is a sharing in the energy offered, and not a force we can claim ownership of.  Consequently we will need to develop our own nautical skills and learn how to work together with God’s power and with those who join us on our expedition in faith.