Byblos wrote:
Let me know what you think of this Rick.
Ok, I'll try.
We are born under the law, children of the world, wandering in an immense forest where the paths are treacherous and the rules are burdensome. If we obey the law perfectly we might make it, but the truth is no one has ever made it under the law.
Ok, you've already lost me. What do you mean when you say we are born under the law?
Once we make a profession of faith for Christ, we are immediately plucked out of the forest (and the status of being children of the world) and into the ocean (and have a new status as children of God) never to return to the forest again.
Other than making a profession of faith for Christ, I think I agree with this.
In the ocean God promises to never ever let us go. Through the Holy Spirit God's hand is always in ours, helping us navigate the rough waters of life. We cooperate with God's free grace by gripping His hand so we can stay afloat. Is this cooperation a work? Of course not, what is it that we can boast about? Can we say we're saving ourselves, through our own powers? No. We simply cooperate with God's grace by holding His hand. Sometimes we hold on firmly and simply float on our backs, secure in the fact that He will never let us go. Other times we loosen our grip a bit and immediately snap back when we feel a slide downward. Other times we even may let go for an instant but reach back up as the water covers our face for His ever-present hand, for He is always faithful and His arm will always be outstretched and ready to shore us back up. But (and here I think is where we differ), there are some of us, completely awash in pride and self-centeredness, think we can STILL save ourselves and have no need for God. So we make a conscious decision to let go of God's hand so we can save ourselves. God's hand is still outstretched to pluck us back in but through our free will decision we decide not to take him up on his offer. Eventually of course we drown (note that we don't go back to the forest, we simply drown) because we made a choice to totally separate from God.
If in your analogy, the ocean means being a new creation in Christ, then I think this paragraph is a pretty good analogy of how a believer walks with Christ. Or in a nutshell, our relationship with him. If we let go of God's hand, we don't stay in a proper relationship with Him, where God leads us, and keeps us afloat. When we let go of His hand, we begin to start having problems staying spiritually "afloat". I'd like to think of coming out of the forest, and into the ocean, as what happens in this life. So, once we're in the ocean of this life, we need to keep holding God's hand, to keep in the spirit, not letting go of His hand, thereby following the flesh.
So, I see your analogy as holding onto God's hand, as how we should live as a believer. And if we let go and happen to drown, it's the consequence for not living as God intended. I don't see it as if we let go, we lose our relationship, or salvation.
Does that make sense?