It was not until much later that students of the
sea learned of the great underwater currents which, like rivers,
moved their mysterious ways through the body of the sea. These huge
icebergs, so large that it took days to sail past them, had their
roots, 90% of their bulk, deep in the sea’s great currents.
They moved majestically along their way, regardless of the winds
and tides on the surface.
Perhaps we can draw some spiritual lessons from
these giant icebergs. Paul tells us "that we should no longer
be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind,
of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting."
The smaller icebergs tend to go with the wind and
drift in whatever direction it blows. The giant icebergs with their
deep roots are not affected by the storms which send the smaller
ones scurrying hither and thither.
It is a marvelous sight to see hundreds of small
icebergs all being blown in one direction by the storms of life
while the large one with deep roots sails bravely right into the
wind being propelled by the hidden stream far below the surface.
Are we swayed by the fickle surface winds of the
world, or do we have our foundation deep in the stream of our belief
in God so that we can sail against the winds that drive others the
wrong way?
As each day we move steadily forward along our course,
unaffected by the surface waves and winds that throw others this
way and that, it may look like we are not making much progress.
But like the giant iceberg, come back again and we will not be at
the same latitude and longitude. While others may go tearing past
us like the hare sped by the tortoise, mixing metaphors, we must
plod steadily onward, never looking back, being carried along by
our roots buried deeply in our faith in God’s word.
The small icebergs, like many around us, react to
the wind and the waves on the surface similar to those Paul described
as being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
doctrine. If we put our complete trust in God and sink our roots
deep in faith in His promises, then we can become impervious to
superficial events besetting us.
Paul asked a question: "Who shall separate
us from the love of Christ?" He goes on to list a number of
things that do separate some from Christ. "Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"
These are some of the things that can cause those
to go astray like the little icebergs. But -- not us. For we have
sunk our roots deeply into the Word, and so Paul continues, "No,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
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."