Living Water by Larry Garrett

"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name"….wait a minute did I just sing that out loud? Did you just sing it while you read it? We all can recall this song if we’ve seen the show. A show about being in a community. For me my normal surf break is just like that show except no one is calling me NORM. There is something wonderful about being known by people and them wanting you around. There is a sense of belonging; a sense of community.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets to experience this aspect of a community. There are people out there looking to belong to something they can call home. They are moments away from finding it. It will happen when we invite them to one of our chapter meetings. It will happen when we make them feel like they belong out in the lineup. We need to take the initiative and make it happen.

I think this is what Jesus and his disciples experienced when someone joined their meetings. If we are completely honest with one another, that is what each one of us longs for… to belong and to be accepted. The truth is that Jesus wants everyone to feel connected to Him and loved by Him.

So what is stopping people from finding their place in one of these communities? I believe that somewhere down the road they were told a lie that they believed. Something like... you are not good enough to join them. No one wants you around. You're not a good enough surfer to join that group. The list goes on and the father of lies has people trapped in a place of separation and loneliness. It reminds me of something that Paul the apostle said: "Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority" Col 2:8–10.

Christian Surfers is a great community and we need to pull people into it so they might know that they can belong to something and someone bigger than themselves.