Read Romans 3:21-31.
We are sinners in the Land of Sin. Our people moved here as an act of rebellion. We had lived in the Kingdom of God, the Land of Righteousness, but we didn’t like the King’s rules. We didn’t like anyone telling us what we had to do. So we left. We established our own land. It became known as the Land of Sin.
Eventually, we realized that we were suffering the death penalty for this act of rebellion. But this death penalty isn’t like death in the electric chair or by being hanged. It is a slow painful death brought by the anguish and the stench of life in the Land of Sin. In some ways, it is a permanent death sentence, an ongoing death sentence, a living death, a dead living.
The King has called us back to the land of Righteousness to live with him there. He wants to make peace with us. But a great ocean separates us. Some of us were sick of the poverty and filth of our own land, and we had heard of the riches and beauty of the Kingdom of God. So we decided to go to the beautiful Land of Righteousness.
We got into a boat and pushed away from the shore. It was a sailboat, but we didn’t know how to use sails, so we cut holes in the side of the ship for oars. We cut the masts down and chopped them into oars. We named the ship the SS WORK. And then we began to row our way to the Land of Righteousness. Row. Row. Row!
It was hard work. We rowed until sweat dripped off our faces. We rowed until our arms and shoulders ached. We rowed until our hands were blistered. We rowed through waves and wind and storms. Row. Row. Row!
After days and weeks, we could still see the dock where we had started. “Work harder!” was the cry. We rowed day and night. We extended our shifts. We rowed through fatigue and blisters. Work. Work. Work!
After months and months on the SS WORK, we could still see our own land on the horizon, and we started to fight among ourselves.
“Why are you resting? We’ve got too much work to do.”
“I rowed all last night. You better take you’re turn tonight.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. I work just as hard as you.”
“If you didn’t take so many breaks, we’d be there by now.”
“If you were more focused, instead of piddling around with your own selfish games, we would be able to see the Kingdom by now.”
“If you were more pure, maybe God would help us out here.”
“Me, you’re the sinful one. Listen to how you’re judging me.”
Sometimes, we fought so much that someone got injured and couldn’t row anymore. That just made us angrier.
After years and years of struggling, when we could still see the mountain tops of our own land, we had made no more than a few miles of progress on a journey of a thousand miles. We were out of food. We were out of water. We were out of supplies to maintain the ship. The storms continued to come. The ship slowly began to fall apart. Water began leaking through the planks of the ship. We stopped up the leaks with anything we could find. We ripped up the sails and stuffed them into the cracks between the wood to stop the water from coming in. Eventually, there were so many leaks, that we used our own clothing to patch the ship. Nearly naked, exhausted and starving, we set ourselves to the oars again with renewed but exhausted diligence. Row! Row! Row!!! Work. Work. Work!
The ship was now taking on water. It was slowly sinking. All we could think to do was to keep rowing in the desperate hope that we would somehow make it if we just kept rowing. We were now knee deep in water. “Keep rowing!” someone shouted. The ship was starting to break apart. It was too old and too weary to withstand the waves anymore. “Keep rowing!” we all yelled. “Together! Row. Row. Row! Work. Work. Work!!”
Then, over the shouting and rowing, one young lady heard something. We’ll call her, the Hearer. She heard a sound coming from outside the ship, and she had a deep sense in her chest that this was important. She called to her friends, “Wait. I hear something.”
“Shut up! You’re messing up our rhythm. Row. Row. Row!”
“I’m serious. I hear something. It sounds like a horn or people calling or something. Stop shouting for just a minute.”
“No. You’re just dreaming. Keep rowing. Row. Row. Row!”
“I’m going up on deck to look.”
“You’re doing what? You can’t do that! All hands at the oars. Everyone has to row. That’s our only chance. Row. Row. Row!!”
“We’re sitting in water. We’re going down. Besides, I hear something.” The Hearer went up to the deck of the ship. It was beaten and battered by the waves. Most of the ship’s tackle was washed away. The rest was clogged and covered with seaweed and junk washed up by the waves.
Then, the Hearer looked up and saw the source of the sounds she was hearing. There was a huge, beautiful ship. She could see on the side of the ship the name: SS GRACE. Once she was on the deck, the Hearer could clearly hear lots of sounds that were only dimly audible while she was rowing. She could hear the ship’s horn calling out. She could hear the Captain calling over the loudspeakers. She could hear the crew of the ship calling to her over the railing. She could hear the wind in the sails of the SS GRACE.
The Captain called out over the loudspeakers, “Ahoy, there SS WORK. You’re in trouble. The King sent out a mayday call on your behalf. We’ve come to rescue you and your crew. We’ve come in the SS GRACE. She’s a sailboat. She’s powered by the Wind of the Spirit, so you won’t have to row anymore. The SS GRACE can hold your whole crew, but you’ll have to leave your boat. Come aboard.”
The crew of the SS GRACE was calling out with joy, “We’re so glad we found you. Come on, get your friends. The SS GRACE is a great ship. We’ll take you to the King’s Land. You’ll be well treated here. Come on! What are you waiting for?”
The Hearer called out to the SS GRACE, “Why?! Why are you here? Why do you want to rescue us?”
The Captain left his loudspeaker and rushed to the railing of the SS GRACE. “The King loves you. He wants you back in his own Land. He doesn’t want you to live like this. Come on. Return to the King.”
The Hearer turned and rushed back into the inside of the boat where her friends were rowing away with all their strength. “Row. Row. Row! Work. Work. Work!”
“Oh, you’re back,” someone close to her sneered. “Get to work. Row. Row. Row!”
“No,” she responded timidly.
“What?! Shut up, and get to work! Work. Work. Work!”
“No,” with just a little more courage. “We don’t have to row anymore.”
“What? Of course we have to row. We have to row until we die. If we work hard enough, we can make to the Kingdom of Heaven and be called a Righteous one. If we stop rowing, we die. Row. Row. Row!”
“No, I’m telling you. There’s another way. We don’t have to row anymore. Another ship has come to save us.”
“She’s hallucinating (seeing things that aren’t there). There’s no one for miles around. Rowing is the only way. Row. Row. Row!”
“Just stop rowing for a minute and come up on deck to see for yourself. There’s a ship here to save us. It’s called the S. S. GRACE.”
“Grace - what does that mean? Row. Work. Row!”
“I’m not sure, but I think it means we don’t have to row anymore. Come and see for yourself.”
Then, one brave and curious person stood and said, “I’ve heard of the SS GRACE, but I’ve always thought it was a fairy tale, too good to be true. I’ll go look.”
“Somebody shut her up before she gets somebody else to stop rowing.”
But the Hearer and the Seeker escaped to the deck of the ship before anyone could stop them. Then, the Seeker saw that the SS GRACE is the truth. The Seeker saw the Captain and recognized some kindness in his face that he had always longed for. The Seeker saw the full sails of the SS GRACE and noticed that there were no oars on that ship. No one ever rowed the SS GRACE. It was powered by the Wind of the Spirit. The Seeker saw the crew of the S. S. GRACE. Some of them were throwing rescue lines over to the SS WORK. Some of them were climbing over the sides of the ship trying to reach the SS WORK, so they could help people cross over. They moved with joy and purpose.
This was all enough to convince the Seeker. The Hearer and the Seeker returned inside their own ship. “It’s true!” they both said together.
“Shut up. Row. Work. Row!”
“No, really. I saw it, too,” the Seeker cried with joy. “The King has sent the SS GRACE to save us. He knew we couldn’t make it.”
“Why would the King do that? What does he care about us? We’re just stinking people from the Land of Stink. Row. Row. Row! You want to make to the land of Righteousness boys? Well, this is the only way. Work. Work. Work!”
“The Captain said that the King made us, and He wants us back. The Captain came on a new ship. It’s a sailboat. It doesn’t even have oars.”
“No oars?!! How does it move? Row. Row. Row!”
“It’s powered by the Wind of the Spirit.”
“What’s that? Never mind. I can’t imagine life without rowing. What would we do if we couldn’t row? Row. Row. Row!”
“Yeah, we’ve worked hard on this ship. We’ve put our blood, sweat, and tears into the SS WORK. It’s part of us. Let’s just work harder. Work. Work. Work!”
“Look around you people. This ship is going down. It’s sinking. You can never make it by working harder. The SS GRACE is the only way.”
A big guy in the front said, “I’m not sure I want the SS GRACE to save me. I didn’t ask for a rescue boat. I don’t want to be pulled from the water like some drowning rat. I’d rather make it on my own. Thanks, but no thanks. Row. Row. Row!”
Someone in the back in the shadows said, “Maybe the SS GRACE came for you, but I don’t believe the King would send anyone after me. I’m a dirty, stinking sinner from the Land of Sin and Death. I’m just a piece of trash trying to paddle my way to heaven. Once the King – or anyone else for that matter – sees who I really am, they’ll toss me back into the trash heap where I belong. Go ahead. I don’t have anything worth saving. I’m staying here. Row. Row. Row!!”
“The Captain said he’ll take everyone who is willing to put their trust in him and the SS GRACE. He said he won’t turn anyone away. We just have to put our life in his hands. Look we’re going. Are any of you coming with us? There isn’t much time.”
About half the crew of the SS WORK got up and waded through the water to go up on deck to meet the SS GRACE. The other half sat at their oars, rowing away.
Some were bitter, “No sir, you’re not going to find me accepting any handouts. I’ll earn my own way.”
Some were crying, “I just can’t believe it’s true. I can’t believe they’d take me. I just can’t believe it – not for me.”
Some were just staring into space, rowing away, almost as if they had never heard or seen anything about the SS GRACE.
When the Seekers from the SS WORK reached the deck of their ship, they were greeted by friendly workers of the SS GRACE who gave them blankets and led them to the bridge between the two ships. The rest of the crew of the SS GRACE stood on deck cheering wildly as each person was rescued.
As each person stepped onto the SS GRACE, the Captain smiled and reached out his hand for them. It was then that they saw the nail holes in his hands. Then, they understood that he had laid down his own life to make this rescue possible. Each person, one by one, took his hand and let the Captain pull them aboard the SS GRACE. Then, the Captain hugged and kissed them and sent them inside the ship to rest, to eat, to heal.
We need to talk for a minute or two about life on the SS GRACE. The SS WORK is powered by oars, by human effort. However, the SS GRACE is powered by the Wind of the Spirit. It is a sailboat, and when the Wind of the Spirit fills its sails it moves faster and better than any ship can move by human effort. There is still work to do on the SS GRACE. But it is a lighter work with a lighter responsibility. On the SS GRACE everyone understands that our job is not to make the ship move. Our job is just to get the sails up so that the Wind of the Spirit can take us where He wants to take us.
I have a confession to make. I am a recovering Workaholic. I was a faithful member of the SS WORK. Now, I have crossed over into the SS GRACE. I have been working as a crewmember of the SS GRACE for a long time. I have even helped some new people onto the SS GRACE. But often I still think like a crewmember of the SS WORK. Work. Work. Work! Row. Row. Row!
Even worse, I often still feel like a crew member of the SS WORK: dirty, fatigued, driven, bitter, worthless. Sometimes, deep down inside, I still can’t believe that God would rescue me. Sometimes, I can’t stand that I can’t move forward simply because of my own free will and effort. Sometimes, I want to poke holes in the SS GRACE and get out an oar. Sometimes, I want to hit people with an oar and tell them to get to work. Work. Work. Work!
In times like these, (in times like this vacation), the Captain pulls me aside and reminds me of the King’s free love for me. He holds my hand, and we sit on the deck feeling the Wind in our faces. Then, He gently teaches me again the ways of GRACE. And when I am patient enough to listen, I relax and grow.
I don’t know where you are in this story. You may be a recovering Workaholic like me, or you may still be on the SS WORK. You might be still on the Mainland of Sin and Death. You might not have even heard much about the Kingdom of God and the Land of Righteousness.
Wherever you are, the King loves you, and He has sent the SS GRACE to rescue you. The Captain joyfully invites you to put your trust in his GRACE. When you do, the Wind of the Spirit will bring you home.
May God help us all to put our trust in GRACE, and may he teach us anew the ways of GRACE.
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