"I KNEW HE WOULD COME."
Bruce Howell tells the story of a father and his son and daughter who were 8 and 10. They went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey a few years back. They were all great swimmers. They were a long way from shore and they became separated when the dad realized that the tide was carrying them out to sea. He called out to his daughter, "Mary, I am going to shore for help. If you get tired, turn on your back. You can float all day on your back. I'll come back for you."
He and the boy made it to shore and then there was a frantic search for the girl. Finally after 4 hours they found her far out in the sea. She was calmly swimming on her back and wasn't frightened at all.
There was a tremendous amount of relief when the calm girl was finally back on shore. Everyone wondered how she could be so calm. She said, "Daddy said he would come for me and that I could float all day, so I swam and floated because I knew he would come."
This is what Jesus is all about. He will always come for us. He will always be there.
From a sermon by John Bergh, "Claim the Name," 4/8/2011