Sand Castle Syndrome

For years, we took delegations of young people to this youth conference at the Jersey shore. Actually, along the boardwalk in Ocean City. And one afternoon each year, they had sand castle competitions. Each team would go to work trying to build the most impressive sand creation. Of course, they worked before and after low tide when there was some beach to build on. Well, that evening right before dark I walked out on a jetty - you know, this long bridge of giant boulders that stick out into the ocean. Now, high tide was crashing in all around me, and the beach was about to disappear completely! Oh, and all those sand castles people had worked so hard on - not a trace.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU about SAND CASTLE SYNDROME.

Now in a way alot of our life seems to be about building sand castles if you define a sand castle as something you put a lot into that ultimately doesn't last.

I was talking with my neighbor on an airplane recently about downsizing. He works for a major corporation that had recently announced thousands of layoffs and he said, "You know, I survived the cuts this time, but we're all looking over our shoulder wondering if our name is going to be on the list next time." For many people, their job is turning out to be a sand castle - you put a lot in to it, but when the company doesn't need you anymore, the job is washed away. But it's not just about job security - no one is safe anymore! You might feel that way about relationships, about marriage, about your parents marriage. The tide is high and it's taking out security blankets that we've depended on. The biggest things in our lives are so vulnerable.

Well, our word for today from the Word of God is about a Rock to stand on in a world of sand castles. The verses that precede it talk about some of life's high tides, the hardships, the changes, the dangers that wipe out what we've built, and then Romans 8:37 - "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." The tide comes, but we're still winning. Now, how can that be? Romans 8:38-39 says, "I'm convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, the Bible here is describing a relationship that is unloseable - nothing can separate us! This is a Person, your God, who will not divorce you, will not lay you off, will not down size you, will not betray you, a God who loves you very much.

This love of God is described earlier in the same book of the Bible, Romans 5:8 says, "God proved His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." To put it simply, we were separated from God. Maybe you can sense that separation right now, it's like a cosmic loneliness. What separates us is what God calls sin. Bottom line, the One who gave us our life was supposed to run it - we've done it our way instead. And that separation includes a death penalty. But God did what only He could do through His Son, Jesus Christ. He paid the death penalty that you and I deserve. So the only thing that would cause God to ever turn His back on us, our sin, was dealt with at the cross of Jesus Christ. So how do you begin this unloseable love relationship with God? By reaching out to Jesus in total trust to erase your sin from God's book and give you Eternal Life. Maybe you've had enough sand castles let you down. You're ready for a Rock that no tide can wash away. You're ready for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

As I stood on those rocks that day at the shore I realized they'd been there through every high tide, every storm, and they'd never moved. It's like that when you know you belong to Jesus Christ. He's the rock you were meant to build your life on.

If you would like to know more about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or if you want to know for sure that you belong to Him...

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