Living Water by David Nehrig

Cover image: Logan Mills

The sun hadn’t quite come up yet so I could barely make out what my eyes were seeing. It was a guy on an old fashion pedal bike towing a baby trailer that had been seriously modified. At first glance I thought  “there’s a homeless guy with tons of gear behind him”. As I drove by I took one more short glance and realized he was actually a surfer with his board behind him and a boogie board. I didn’t think about it again until I was in the water. As I look down the beach about a hundred yards, I saw a guy getting towed by some sort of boogie board with an engine on it. It was as if he was getting towed into waves from this jet ski-like contraption. We all watched in utter amazement. At the end of each ride he would press a button on his wrist and the boogie board engine (with some kind of tow rope) would come flying over to pick him up.

The chatter in the water was a little overwhelming as the hard-core local guys were pretty bummed about it, some a little jealous, and others just plain confused. 

Why is it in the line up we tend to only love people who ride the same kind of board as us? I mean we all have different types of boards, long boarders, boogie boarders, short boarders, stand up paddle boarders, even people getting towed by some kind of motorized boogie board. The bumper sticker “Why can’t we all get a longboard? “ rings through my head. 

We live in a place that we are so quick to think our way is the best way or that my way of thinking is the right way. Christ is at the center and he wants unity in the “water” church. Today more than ever, we need to lay down our personal preference and love each other. 

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

Could you picture this? What would a lineup look like if we had this type of love? My prayer for myself and you this week is that we can love others that ride something different then us, maybe that thinks differently than us, or even has a different belief then us. Let us go into this week and love one another.