Skip to main content

New Article: We Must Celebrate and Be Glad

 

            On a beautiful afternoon in October of 2024, Kahiau Kawai and his high school kayaking team hit the waters off the coast of Oahu.  It was a great day; until it was not!  Around 4 pm, a storm began to roll in and everyone headed for shore.  It was then that they realized that Kahiau was missing.  At 6:30 pm, 911 call went out and soon search and rescue helicopters and boats were searching the ocean for the 17-year-old.

Darkness fell and there was still no trace of the boy.  Others joined in, fearing the worst.  Surviving in the open sea is hard enough when one is well-equipped.  It is another thing in a storm without a life jacket.  Kahiau’s family gathered and began to talk about his funeral.

Finally, at 4 am, after searching for more than eight hours, a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft spotted the boy’s kayak and dropped a flare at the location.  Rescue boats rushed to the scene.  When they arrived, they not only found the kayak, but Kahiau clinging to the side of it.  After being in the water for nearly 12 hours, Kahiau was taken to a nearby hospital.  He had hypothermia, but considering what he had been through, he was in remarkable condition. 

If you Google his name, you likely come across a picture of Kahiau and his mom.  It was taken when she got to the hospital.  It was taken after she got her boy back.  The first time I saw that picture I thought, “Every day from now on will be different for them.  Every Christmas and every birthday will feel like a gift because her boy was saved!”

Our spiritual salvation story ought to work the same way.  It should never become something that happened long ago having little to no effect on us now.  Rather, it should change how we see every day and everything that happens to us.  It should be the lens through which we view the world, and that lens ought to help us see better.

Salvation, when it is real, cannot be forgotten.  Rather, it must be held onto and cherished.

As the Father in Jesus’ famous parable observed, “We had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).

We must learn to celebrate too!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: The Biggest Problem Is Not Out There!

In a time when everyone has a vocal opinion on everything and judgment is everywhere, maybe we need to reconsider the words of Jesus. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).  Here are two observations to consider. First, when we look for what others are doing wrong, we are starting in the wrong place.  “Take the log out of your eye” is the first move.  Start with yourself!  It is easy to judge others and make excuses for ourselves.  Yet, that is completely backwards! If we are honest, we never get past making ourselves better.  There is always more to do.  This, then, leaves very little time to point out...
Post a Comment
Read more