Bring Your Dasani Water And Get In The Boat!

Water is an essential for life and a basic building block for civilization and all the economies of the world.  In the Western United States there is an ongoing battle over who gets how much water from rivers and how can we conserve our dwindling water supplies.  I live in a dry area where people fail to hydrate well and actually get sick quickly because of it.  We’re made up of close to 60% water in our bodies.  We float around in a bag of water until we are born.  Water, water everywhere…

Without water everything dies.

Over forty times in the New Testament Jesus is referred to as going out on the water in a boat.  Probably shouldn’t be a big surprise, since he spent so much time in the Galilee region preaching and healing.  The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake on earth and an area that was a huge resource for fish supply to the Hebrews as well as the conquering Romans inhabiting the area.  The Romans liked the place enough to rename it Tiberias after their Emperor.  Jesus showed himself to be master of the water.  I used to be a boat patrol officer and know what its like to have waves six feet high on inland lakes.  The Sea of Galilee produces waves as high as twelve feet in a storm…and Jesus quelled them with a word.  Jesus referred to himself as the water of life.  He understood the importance of water.

Without water everything dies.

Jesus even mastered water to the point of walking on it in a raging storm to reach Peter’s boat. (I’ve done it too, but I confess the pond was frozen at the time.)  Peter was apparently pretty impressed and tried to do it when Jesus told him too, but he looked down and realized how crazy it all was.  He lost his focus on the master of water and looked at the water itself.  Jesus had to pull him up and get him back in the boat with Him. I think it is interesting that our church architecture incorporates an area where people sit to listen and it’s call the “nave” of the church.  The word comes from the original “navis” which means “boat” (now you also know where the term “Navy” comes from.)  When we come to church we get out of the water and sit safely in the boat with the God of the universe.  That’s the symbolism.

Without water everything dies, but if you are left in the water you will drown.

Get in the boat.