“Being a great swimmer in a pool does not mean you’ll be successful in the ocean.”
In a movie The Guardian, that’s what Kevin Costner’s veteran swimmer character warns Ashton Kutcher, a new Coast Guard rescue recruit. A pool has a defined depth with a concrete bottom. The ocean has a bottom, but often miles deep. A tired swimmer can sink to the bottom of a pool and bounce back to the surface. Not so in the ocean.
I’m concerned that Americans believe our culture is in a shallow pool, not a deep ocean. One of my friends makes a good argument that America is simply experiencing a down cycle that will pass. I respectively disagree for three reasons:
I have not given up hope.
Why am I hopeful? First off, maybe my friend is right. We’re simply experiencing a down cycle and will bounce back as a stronger nation.
I place most my hope, however, in the men and women who are still willing to jump into the ocean to save drowning people.
And foremost, I know there still is God who has limitless power and authority to make all things good.
My job? Hang out with them and Him.