Boats

Imagine that God made each of us life, and the boat signifies our bodies and our lives.  The boat keeps us afloat, sustaining us and protecting us.  But, he is not a rapist or robot-maker.  He would not keep us in the boat against our wills.  He did not stop us from puncturing holes in the boat. 

When that happened, the boat that gave life began to leak, and it was only a matter of time before the water consumed it—and us.  But there were people who saw what a horrible mistake it was.  So they began patching the boat—while tearing holes in new places.  Each sin is a hole. This continued for years: tearing and patching, tearing and patching. 

Some stand ankle deep in the water at the bottom of their patched boats and chortle in triumph.  “See?”  They say, “God said we would die if we disobeyed!  I am not dead!  I don’t need him.”  But the fact of the matter is that no boat can be fully restored while on the water.  Any boat that is continually being punctured will eventually go down.  It is inevitable.  Because God made such a worthy vessel, it may take a long time for it to finally sink.  That doesn’t mean that we can’t destroy it.

When Jesus came, a new boat was made for each of us.  No more patches needed.  People only need to choose either to abandon their leaky transports and get in Jesus’ boat or to stick with relying on their own strength to stay alive.