In Scriptural analogy, the “Sea” is often used to depict powerful, out of control chaos. In the beginning, we see a picture of an unformed world. Before God began His specific creation of the earth as a place of beauty, harmony and rest, we see the earth covered with water.
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
As I look at a globe, one of the most striking things I notice about the earth is that it is still predominately covered with water. About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water. So, with those figures, around 68.5 percent of the earth’s surface is “sea”. Another interesting fact is that of all the water covering the planet, only about one percent of all this water can actually be classified as “fresh” water, water devoid of salt. Brackish water is a mixture of salt water and fresh water. Salt water is much more dangerous than fresh water. Even though human beings, and all living things depend on water for survival, we cannot drink salt water. Drinking salt water is worse than not drinking any water at all because it will dehydrate you.
Isn’t it ironic that the entire earth is predominately covered with one of the most important elements for our survival, but it is in a form that will kill us if we drink it? I can’t help but be reminded of the famous line from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”
So, the “Sea” as a picture of dangerous, out of control chaos is a fit analogy for the world in which we find ourselves living. There are so many things that affect our lives over which we have absolutely no control. We need a force that is much greater than ourselves, and much greater than this chaos in which we find ourselves living, to cling to for survival. Actually, the only force available capable of footing this bill is God. Not a force in the sense of abstract power, but a being. A being not bound by the constraints of space and time in which we are enslaved.
Not only is the earth predominately water, we, as human beings are predominately water. The amount of water in the human body ranges from 50-75%. The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age. The average adult male is about 60% water. The average adult female is about 55% water. I suppose that those who identify as gender fluid are 100% water!
“And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.”
So, when God caused dry ground to appear, still to this day, only 31.5 percent of the earth’s surface is inhabitable by human beings. I am not saying that it is not possible for human beings to figure out some way to live in the ocean. But, it is not really a practical idea, just as the idea of human beings living in space is not a practical idea. In either scenario, humans have to manufacture an artificial environment in which to live that requires a massive amount of material and work to sustain.
Not only is the surface of the earth mostly covered in ocean, we are also surrounded by water in our atmosphere. That line from Genesis, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it” has always intrigued me. Let’s look at that for a moment. Not only can the sea be a fearful place, the atmosphere also carries power for life, and power for destruction, and only God can control it. The same atmosphere that is capable of producing wonderful, crisp spring and autumn days, glorious sunrises, and sunsets that show us the wonder of God’s artistry, is also capable of producing hurricanes, tornados, floods, lightning storms, and other destructive phenomenon. And human beings have absolutely no power to control any of this. It is in the hand of God. From this account, it appears that Earth was surrounded by a canopy of water before the Flood.
Water is a force that can bring life and beauty. And water is a force that can bring devastating destruction. And just as Scripture uses the image of the sea to depict out of control chaos, it also uses the image of the sea to depict a picture of lost humanity. A sea of chaotic, out of control human beings. Scripture also uses the imagery of the “Flood” to depict both judgement and cleansing. We have known of massive floods in history that have brought horrific destruction. The flood brings destruction, but it also brings cleansing and renewal.
As we study history, and even as we read of current events, we witness a sea of people lost in all kinds of ideas, philosophies, religions, controversies, and war. My childhood and teen years were in the sixties and seventies. It seemed like all we heard about was the possibility of nuclear destruction when the arms race between the world super-powers was at its peak. Today, the threat is just as real as it has ever been, but we have become so accustomed to it, we have become desensitized to the possibility, and it no longer captures our attention on a daily basis.
Human history is the story of mankind in one long continuous cycle of kingdoms, empires and civilizations rising to power and prominence, only to end in inevitable destruction. Many people who have studied the history of western civilization have noted that the average life span of any prominent empire is about 200 years. The kingdoms of man will always rise, only to fall:
“The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (Psalm 33:10-11)
We are currently living in an era in which the media controls many people’s perception of reality. We see it on the news on television, we read it in the paper and on the internet, and we take it to be our sole source of truth. The problem is that often the media’s presentation of anything is often one-sided, politically and ideologically motivated, and often inaccurate. The controversy over race relations, police brutality, gay rights, and a host of other current issues seem to bombard us from every direction we turn. It seems that the media thrives on stirring controversy, and the ultimate reason that this is so is that controversy is what sells. News is a business. A very profitable business, and controversy is what sells. It is all motivated by money and control. Money to be made by selling controversy, and the distortion of truth in the attempt to control people’s ideologies and beliefs. Again, this is not my main point, just a path to lead to a larger picture I want to paint. This world truly is a sea of lost souls.
It is so easy for us to get so caught up in the things that are going on right now that we lose sight of the big picture. Not only do we live in a world that thrives on controversy, we are currently living in an era that is awash in a sea of distraction. We have so many things that scream at us for our attention that it becomes hard to focus on what is ultimately important. Less than fifty years ago no one ever heard of what is now referred to as “Attention Deficit Disorder”. Now we see a constant upward trend in the number of school age children and teens who are being diagnosed and medically treated for Attention Deficit Disorder. It seems that it has become an epidemic. Don’t get me wrong. I honestly do believe that there is such a thing as ADD because I have known first hand some real cases. However, I also believe that it has become such a trendy diagnosis, that a lot of children and adults who manifest symptoms of ADD that are caused by other factors are misdiagnosed.
I think one of the things that has produced symptoms of ADD in a lot of young people is the prominence of electronic media. It is comical to go into a crowded public setting and watch the number of people who are constantly engaged with their smart phones, oblivious to what is going on around them. I do not exclude myself from this lot, because I find myself doing it at times. We are distracted! The “Connected” generation is anything but that. We are connected to our gadgets, and disconnected from each other. It is easier to “Like” a virtual person than it is to rub elbows with a real skin and bones human being who can be irritating, hateful and trying.
The Lost Sea is the picture of mankind, busy, busy, busy building our little kingdoms, our little empires, oblivious to what God is doing in the world, and what God has been doing in the world since the beginning of Creation. Politicians like to spout rhetoric about how they have a plan to “restore the American Dream.” Believe me, the American Dream still exists. A nightmare is a dream! So, what exactly is the American Dream? It goes something like this: Everyone has the right to success and happiness. If you do the right things, if you work hard, and get a good education, you can succeed, have a career or business that gives you enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle and enjoy the things you want. A nice home, nice cars, smart, academically successful children, good health and a puppy. Some people might even say that a cat figures into the equation, but that is debatable. (I am just kidding, I really like cats.)
In essence, the American Dream is our individual attempts to build our own little private kingdoms. And it is a “dream”. It is not reality, because, just as history proves that the kingdoms and empires of mankind always rise, to inevitably fall, so do our own little private kingdoms. I have heard it said that no one has ever seen a Uhaul following a hearse.
Despite what is often presented as “the Gospel”, God’s primary purpose for His people is not their own, private success and fulfillment as individuals. Most of the real men and women of God throughout history would not be judged as success stories from the world’s standards. God has a much larger plan and objective. It involves the redemption and restoration of this “Lost Sea” of humanity.
Christianity has to be the most ironic and paradoxical belief system that has ever existed in the history of mankind. Let me explain what I mean by this. Most religions, philosophies, and ideologies (these are all just paradigms, filters through which we interpret reality), either stress one of two things: 1. Personal satisfaction and fulfillment in the material world, or, 2. Finding inner peace through some form of asceticism (The doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing self-denial, self-mortification, and the like.) If you want to learn how to find success and fulfillment in the material world, a quick trip to the nearest bookstore or newsstand will provide you with a plethora of formulas that would take you ten life-times to master.
The problem is that both of these approaches are out of balance, and, quite frankly, just plain wrong. The reason is that we are not just material beings, and we are not just spiritual beings. We are both. That is the way God made us. We are much more than simply highly evolved organisms, and we are so much more than just spirits imprisoned in a material body.
The problem with so much of what is called Science is that it attempts to answer all of life’s questions based on the simple observation of pure materialism, and simply ignores or denies anything that will not fit into that paradigm. There is certainly nothing wrong with science if it is used the right way. There is no contradiction between science and faith, actually the two go hand and hand because science helps us to better understand and manage God’s creation. That is what Scripture means when it says,
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Basically, real science is just learning how to manipulate matter and predict outcomes based on repeated observations. But we live in a culture that has turned science, and man’s reasoning ability into a “god”. This is a foolish way to interpret life. How many of you have lived long enough to figure out that you do not have all the answers, and you never will?
The flip side to this approach, asceticism, is just as foolish and wrong. It makes an enemy out of the material world. God did not create an evil world that we have to abhor in order to find enlightenment. That just doesn’t make sense. With every act of creation, God pronounced “It is good”. The reason we see so much evil and destruction in the world is not because God made it evil, it is because mankind has used it wrongly. There is a huge difference between the world, understood as God’s creation and man’s system. Man’s system, man’s attempt to control the world apart from God is represented in Scripture as “Babylon”. Babylon is a picture of man’s efforts at building his own kingdom on his own terms. It always fails. It may appear beautiful and powerful for a time, but Babylon is always destined to fall.
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries. Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, “I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.” Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning, and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” (Revelations 18:1-8)
Now, Christianity, rightly understood, balances the understanding that God created a good world, but mankind, because we have chosen to disregard God’s plan and direction, have made a royal mess out of things. And in order to put us back on track, God, the eternal sovereign ruler of all of creation, has stepped into the constraints of space and time in which we live, and offered His own life as the payment for our sin. Nothing in the entire history of mankind is anything like this. Nothing in any of the world’s religions is like this. It is a totally unique and different understanding of reality. It is a huge paradox that the eternal, immortal, all powerful God of Creation would step out of eternity, into our prison of space and time, and offer His own life, through His embodiment in the person of Jesus Christ as the payment for our rebellion and sin, in order to redeem and restore this lost sea of humanity. And because He is the creator of life, He is able to take up His own life and live, even after suffering physical death in a human body.
I truly believe that God paints pictures for us to observe in His creation. We gain understanding from studying His word, as recorded in Scripture, but He also paints pictures for us to observe and learn from every day in His created order. Every morning, and every evening, God paints a brand new picture for us to observe in the sky with each new, and unique sunrise and sunset. The interplay of sunlight, clouds and shadows is remarkably beautiful. I never tire of it. And, if you are a photographer, and you want to make a practice of capturing sunrises and sunsets, I guarantee you that you will never make the same picture twice. It is constantly changing. It is constantly unique and beautiful.
Just as God paints fresh pictures for us to observe in the sky, He has also paints a picture for us in the oceans, the seas. The ocean is really a practically observable picture of God’s awesome power. I can never stand on the beach and look out at the ocean and not be overwhelmed by the ocean’s power. The power of the ocean has claimed the lives of countless millions of people over the course of time. The depths of the ocean contain life forms that boggle our minds as we observe all of the strange and wonderful creatures that are so different from what we see on land. Even today as we plummet the ocean’s deep waters we see creatures that have not been discovered before. It is amazing.
God paints pictures for us to observe in space. The heavens declare the glory of God. The vastness of observable space should put us in awe of the bigness of God and His power. Instead of doing that, our generation fantasizes about a universe filled with extra-terrestrial beings that we are one day going to meet as we learn to fly around the universe in space ships. This is a fantasy. If the earth is billions of years old, as evolutionists claim, and the big universe is filled with extra-terrestrial beings, why, in all this time is there no proof that life exists anywhere in this universe other than on planet Earth? The more we have advanced and learned to view our own solar system and those that surround it, all the planets appear to be totally barren. God is painting a picture for us here of how barren our own planet could be if not for His intervention. This should humble us, but instead, we strut around like arrogant fools and deny His existence.
It is estimated that the earth’s population is somewhere around 8 billion people at the current time. Statistically speaking, the amount of people who ultimately turn to God and find salvation will be a small number if you consider the number of people currently on the planet, and the people who have all died throughout the course of history. This is sad. We are truly a sea of lost souls. A raging, out of control mass of humanity headed for destruction and hell. You do not need to be one of the lost. The Bible says that “Today is the Day of Salvation,” and “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Will you be washed away on the flood of destruction that is coming, or will you reach out to the Only One who can save you? It is in your hands. If you choose wrongly, you will have no excuse on the day of judgement when you will finally see the truth and cry out for mercy to your Creator, and at that time, no mercy will be given. The Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgement.”
Danny's Stump 