The Sea and The Mystery of God

I have to say that I am completely and utterly fascinated by the Ocean, the grandeur and mystery. When I look back I'm actually surprised that I have never blogged on the ocean before, because of my deep attraction to it. My wife and I were listening to Peter Kreft's talk on the ocean, and we were mesmerized for over an hour, he could have went on for the entire night, and you would still want more, it was quite possibly the best talk I've ever listened to, probably because of love the subject so much. (you can find it for your ipod at http://www.peterkreft.com/).

I've always been taken by the beauty, the grandeur, the mystery, but there's something more that I was never able to put my finger on, and Peter Kreft hit it, the ocean is a lover. That's why people for centuries have referred to the ocean as She. The color and the smell is different every time you experience it. Think about that, and like every good lover, every time you have an encounter with the Ocean, you are always, and I mean always Renewed and Inspired, that's what great lovers do, they renew and inspire. Bad lovers, suck life out of their subject, like a vampire, good lovers infuse life. That's why the example of Jesus and a Vampire is important, the one sucks your blood out and takes, the other actually gives you His blood, and fills you with Life- The Eucharist.

The Ocean is a good Lover, its stormy sometimes, but we love even that, we love everything about it, because it reflects so much of who God is. He is full of mystery, but he's also close. Think of all the times you have simply flopped around the shore of the ocean and time stopped, the ocean was that close and personal. We have something of a holy fear of the ocean, not because its bad, but because its powerful, and awesome, we give that under-tow potential the respect it deserves and rightly so. God should be feared, because He is awesome and powerful.

The ocean always gives us its best, we should model this in our own life, to focus on giving energy and strength to those around us, and never sucking or controlling. The ocean doesn't try to control us, because it doesn't have to, the beauty of its self gift is enough already, it doesn't have to convince us to come back again, we are just drawn to it.

I am always amazed that when I swim in the ocean, I am revived for hours on end, and then at night I sleep with completely peace. Great spouses do the same thing, its a perfect example to follow, to make ourselves the gift, to think of others first!