Earlier this summer, I was privileged to take a short sail on a tall ship. With it's high mast and miscellaneous ropes and rigging, it looked quite majestic even moored there in the harbor. All the wood was waxed, all the brass was buffed, yet the sail just hung limply in folds.
As we sailed around the harbor, I began to talk to the captain, a young man who obviously loved his job. He described different aspects of the boat, and demonstrated for us how the sails are raised and lowered.
As I looked at the sail, I was reminded of a something that I had read several months ago. In describing a character who had died, the person talking had done so in these terms. "He was like a sail: only slack until it caught the wind. Then it had all the power of the wind."
If there is ever an excuse to be slack, it is this: I have not caught the wind yet. But once I have caught the wind, which we recognize quickly as the Spirit if we read John 3, I should no longer be slack, but run with all the power of the wind.
We do not function on our own power, folks. No... we function with the power of the wind. Lift up your sail and let the wind drive you today!
