Boats are beautiful, especially sailboats. They raise their sails, they catch the wind, and they leap forward, masterpieces of perfection.
There is something sailboats do that reveals the care they’ve been given. Sailboats heel (or lean to one side) when the wind presses against their sails. In strong winds when running before a storm, it reveals the parts of the hulls below the waterline. That’s when we see the true care given the craft.
No matter how much we polish the brass rails everyone sees, and regardless of how fine a shine we put on our paint, our boat is less efficient when our hull is encrusted with detritus. Barnacles and moss will slow us down, sometimes just enough that the storm will overtake us and defeat us.
We have to clear away that which is hidden, so that we can run with the Lord to do his good works.
2 Timothy 2:17 reveals Paul clearing away the cankers:
“And their talk will spread like [cankers]. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus.”
Hymenaeus and Philetus are trapped in false doctrine, and Paul is scraping them away, so that the ship of Christ can perform at its best.
We can apply this to our personal lives. What distracts us from our walk with Christ, pulling us astray from his path to eternal glory? Are we polished when we attend church, but hidden beneath our waterline is a contusion of cankers, waiting to slow us down when the storms of life come our way?
Boat owners have to periodically pull their boats ashore and scrape their hulls clean. It’s a tedious process, and it can cost a lot. Yet, it’s the only way to make sure the boat is as beautiful below the waterline as it is above.
Our lives are the same in Christ. We have to scrape away the cankers, no matter how much it costs. Then, we will be at our best for the Lord.
Christ can use us best when we scrape away everything in our lives that doesn’t belong.
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