Oops

I love to fish...as much as I can. And like any fisherman, I have a hundred fish stories, some are even true. Here's one that always makes me laugh.

Many moons ago, a friend and I rented a small row boat with a little 5 hp motor for a day of fishing on a lake in Ohio. We found a spot that looked promising, so I instructed my land-lubber friend to throw the anchor over the side. I watched as the anchor splashed into the water and disappeared into the murky depths. Then I realized one small detail. My friend had failed to tie the anchor to the boat. Down went the anchor, rope and all, never to be seen again. The lesson was clear - for an anchor to be of value, it must be secure.

Hebrews 6 speaks of Jesus as the anchor of our soul. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Note the anchor is described as firm and secure. The description of firm refers to the reliability of Jesus. That's a given that's out of our control. Jesus is firm, period.

But the description of the anchor as secure does have something to do with us. It's up to us make sure our lives are firmly secured to Christ. The hope that Jesus brings is of little use if we are not securely connected to him.

The anchor incident with my friend provided some great laughs. But it also taught us both a good faith lesson - if you're counting on Jesus to be an anchor of hope in your life, make sure you are securely connected.