Sandcastle Royalty

By Boston Gilbert

We are Sandcastle Kings and Queens.

To build a solid sandcastle, you have to craft it relatively close to the water - where the mixture of the sand and water combine to form the correct density. If the castle is built with sand that is too distant from the water, it crumbles...there's not enough substance. If you construct it too close to the ocean, the mixture is soupy, causing your creation to collapse with ease.

The LORD desires a NEW creation. This is why - in order for your sandcastle to be the best it can be, the distance that it is from the water entails an inevitability...that each night, the tides will rise and crush your beautiful, sandy structure.

This is true of us. We work tirelessly to build, build, build. We build up our own personal castles by way of financial stability, security, things that make us happy, building our bodies, minds, and pleasing ourselves by storing up everything that we think will satisfy us in this world. It feels good to build. I start to think to myself, "Hey, man. You've got a pretty good thing going on here. You're kind of crushing it, actually. Right on, bro."

Then, it happens. Of course it does. Thousands of years ago, Jesus told me that it would. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble." He literally tells me that in this world, I will have trouble. We will experience suffering by way of disappointment, injury, relationship problems, and constant attacks that bombard the six inches between my ears. Mental, physical and most importantly, heart problems, arise like the creeping tide in the dead of night.

Thankfully, there is hope. 

Hebrew 6:19 - "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

Jesus desires for me to lay down my life and "share in the sufferings of Christ" (1 Peter 4:13.)

Laying down my life means putting no confidence in the flesh. My flesh will constantly fail me. I will struggle, I will fall, and I will break down. I am in a constant state of dealing with my emotions, feelings, passions, and desires. The question is, how can I lay down the self? I know that Christ longs for me to become less, and Him more, but where is the practicality here? Before we understand how to do this, we must understand a simple truth...that the point of life is to be more like Christ, to "gain" Him more and more. So, my aim is not to look at a situation and think how I can lose myself there, but instead, to look at a situation and remember that the mission is to gain Christ. He has given each a portion. Maybe your portion in a certain season of life is to suffer, or not. Maybe your portion is to live on top of the world and use your platform to redirect glory to Christ. The point is not suffering, nor is it thriving. The point is to become more and more like the person of Jesus. I can't do this by storing up treasures on Earth.

In order to avoid the pitfalls of the rushing waves, and to ultimately live in the true freedom that God desires for me, I must not allow my hope and trust to be in things of the world. Instead, let's take up our cross, follow Him, treasure His presence, and learn how to love Him at the core. This is so far from religion, so far from do's and don'ts. I'm not religious. I am pressing into the hope of God by understanding the person of Jesus more every day.