The Lost Red Boat

John 14:6 (New International Version)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

It was just a simple toy boat. Not very big, and made of red plastic. Just the kind any kid would love to play with. Somehow it found its way into the Atlantic Ocean, near Shediac, New Brunswick, and because boats are made to float, it was fine at first.

But as it continued to bob, unattended, on the surface of that salt-water bay, it got caught up in a current, one that caused it to drift farther and farther away from the beach. No matter how hard it tried to turn back, it was helpless to change its course. The current was too strong for such a tiny plastic boat.

But even if it had been equipped with a motor of some kind, its efforts would have been pointless. It might have initially made the boat feel better to be "doing" something to get itself back to shore, but sooner or later it would realize that the motor wasn't strong enough to fight the current, and it would continue to find itself drifting farther and farther from the shore.

No human efforts could save it now. It was lost, lost for good!

Only One came to save those, who like that tiny plastic boat, are lost. It cost Him His life, but when He rose from the dead on the third day, he could exclaim: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

And indeed those who were once lost were brought ashore, not through their own efforts, but because of what the Risen One had done for them!

There is no price for our redemption. Jesus paid it in full. All we can do with our tiny human effort is to drift further and further away from God's grace. Just like that tiny boat could do nothing to save itself, we cannot save ourselves. "Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified." (Gal 2:16 NIV)

Dear Lord we thank You that we don’t have to drift out to see but You are there to rescue us. We pray today that we won’t try to do it on our own but that we would put our complete trust in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.