Sea Glass

While working on a beach on a mission trip to Puerto Rico, a friend of mine came across sea glass and was struck by how that sea glass represents the redemption story our Savior sings sweetly to us. Listen to the beauty of God taught me through my friend:

Sea glass starts out as a regular glass bottle, jar, or container of some sort. In its outward appearance, the glass could be thought of as pretty. Maybe it's color is nice or its shape pleasing. Its purpose in life is to be filled with things--soda, alcohol, juice, ketchup, whatever. But each of those "fillers" get emptied. And once emptied, the bottles can be refilled, but in turn, they will again be emptied.

And then it happens: the bottle gets broken. There are shreds everywhere because somebody or some thing did something to make the bottle break. No longer able to hold onto its physical appearance, the bottle can only make people bleed. Like my friend said, the process of making sea glass starts with someone shattering a bottle on the beach. The bottle is currently useless, but, praise God, it doesn't end there.

After time, the broken glass is rushed over by the powerful waves and sanded by the grainy sand. With each wave, high tide, and low tide, the glass is scratched up and polished. It's a rough ride, and it takes a long time. Yet still, the story goes further.

In all the rush of the water and the polishing of the sand, the glass is completely undertaken and has no control over what is happening. If the glass were to try and stick itself in the sand where the water couldn't reach, the process wouldn't be complete. If the glass were to be swept out to sea and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the tide and waves couldn't sweep the glass back and forth, making it and polishing it into its potential beauty. All while this piece of glass appears as though it has no meaning, no worth, no purpose, it's Maker sees that if it would only submit to the Rush of His Ocean's Wave, it would be beautiful because of what the Ocean did to it.

Don't you see? We areee that bottle!! Don't we try and fill our lives with fleeting "fillers"? I know I do! Aren't you broken? I know I am! Don't your sharp edges cut those who come near you or try to touch your life? I know mine have! But the biggest question is this: is the Ocean calling you, pleading to let It sweep you off your feet and let It make you beautiful? The roar of the ocean is too hard to ignore.

Sea glass is such a beautiful treasure--my friend can account of that! He said how because of the ocean's work, it's beautiful and sparkling and among the shards of sharp glass, it stands out because of that beauty. We can shine and sparkle with beauty like the sea glass does if we submit to the fierce and transforming love of God and the redemption story of his Son, Jesus Christ. And like my friend said, we'll sometimes lose our shininess at times, just as the sea glass does out of water, but when we allow ourselves to become swept into those scary waters once again, God polishes us and heals us.

Pray that God would give YOU the courage to be swept away in the transforming love of God. Revival starts in individual hearts and grows by the grace of God to start a ragingly fierce body of believers on fire for their Maker.

I pray and trust that as we head into the weekend, you'll make special time to step intentionally into the changing Waters that is our Savior.