What Were You Built For?
“A ship is always safe ashore but that is not what it’s built for.” ~ Albert Einstein
Do you steer clear of everything unknown or are you one who is willing to take risks? A ship is built, if you will, to take risks. It is built to take the ocean and all that can be thrown at it. When I saw this quote, I thought of my recent transatlantic cruise. The first few days of the cruise were a bit rougher than normal. We had caught some of the seas that were churned up hundreds of miles away by Hurricane Oscar. The ship was sailing in twenty-five to thirty foots seas. For a vessel that size, that was no problem.
Many of the passengers commented about the creaking that the brand new ship was doing those first few days (and nights). Some thought that the ship was somehow weak or in distress. We told them that ships are built for a lot of give and take and when the ship is going through huge waves, there is going to be a lot of movement causing noises. But that is what the ship was built for: to take the waves that we were going through with no problems.
While the seas caused too much movement for shows to be run the first few days (for the safety of the performers), there was never a question about our own safety. We were high and dry and we were going to stay high and dry because, again, that was what the ship was built for. We could have had the shows if we kept the ship moored at the dock in Barcelona. If we never left the dock, we would not have to worry about storms or movement of any kind. All would be well. All, except, for the fact that we would get nowhere. The ship was not built for remaining docked. It was built to move.
And so, my friends, were we. Oh, we could remain nice and safe nestled in our own homes, never going out into the world and interacting with others. However, that was not what we were built for. We were created by God to love Him and to serve Him by going out to others. We were created for each other, to touch each others’ lives and enhance each others’ existences. We were created for love, care, and compassion.
Don’t allow yourself to remain tethered somewhere where it is presumably “safe”. Get out and interact with God’s creation. Speak to your brothers and sisters. Care for one another. Love one another. Because, that is what we were built for.
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to make clear what He wants of you and then ask Him for the courage to embrace His will.