Sitting on the bottom looking up

Remember my horse blaze? I eventually sold him and bought scuba diving equipment. He found a good home, and I had a new hobby. When I became a Christian, my new family included a couple of guys who wanted to take scuba lessons, and I was all in. The first step in scuba diving is certification, so we signed up and took the plunge.

Fast forward one year. We were certified, practiced, and ready for adventure, and living in Florida meant diving in the Keys. We rented a small trailer and headed south. The keys themselves are rocks sticking out of the water, where a few palm trees started to grow. The real beauty was underneath the water, and the place we picked for our first solo excursion was Christ of the  Abyss. According to Wikipedia 

The statue (one of several submerged around the world) was presented to the Underwater Society of America in New York in 1962…On August 25, 1965, it was placed in approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) of water off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, near Dry Rocks, approximately six miles east of Key Largo in the National Marine Sanctuary, just outside of John Pennekamp State Park. The statue weighs around 260 kg, and the concrete base to which it is attached weighs approximately 9 tons.

Thirteen years after it was submerged, we headed out to explore this odd addition to an underwater park. Scuba diving is surreal. You are encased in water, with minimal sound, and you breathe through a thin hose leading to a tank of life-giving air. These are small but essential tasks you have to perform on your way down and up, but those were insignificant compared to the marvels that opened before us. The variety

of fish. The color and complexity of even the simplest of organisms. Then, breaking through the haze of saltwater was the statue of Jesus, arms stretched upward in an offering of thanksgiving. Its enormity is hard to explain. We circled it as if hovering high above in the sky. Its hands growing bigger the closer we got, and I was swept up in it's Majesty. All these years later and I shiver at the experience.

Jeremiah wrote, " (ESV) Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? Declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:23,24)

We can not hide from the living God. " (ESV) 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7). No matter how hard we try, His presence is everywhere. Since that is the case, we might as well stop running and submit to His goodwill. The reason people don't want to submit is that they are afraid of losing their autonomy. But it isn't until we give ourselves over to God, in Christ, that we know what it means to be free. Jesus said, "the truth will set you free…So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36).

Like the scuba tank and the air hose sets me free to explore the depths of the sea, so our life in Christ sets us free to explore the depth of God's love. You can't outrun Him. You can't hide from Him. You might as well give yourself over to Him and be set Free! I'm just saying.