Deep Calls to Deep
/Deep calls to deep…
I’ve been pondering the concept of depth quite a bit lately. Depth can be scary, and the deeper the depth, the more intimidating the dive to get there.
I recently traveled to St. Croix where I had the opportunity to scuba dive. I gotta be honest, I was a little nervous. I have a heart condition, and I had to get this activity cleared by my cardiologist, but even after getting the thumbs up from my doctor, I did what I often do. I worried about what might happen, and I doubted my ability and my guide’s ability to lead me down to the depth of the sea and back up to the surface safely.
In the ocean, the deeper you descend, the darker it becomes. I’m not quite sure why I was comparing an exploratory, comparatively shallow, beginner dive with some deep sea excursion, but I was, and that had me quite nervous about the whole experience!
In the end, the dive went swimmingly, and although I did not master the flipper action, I did well with my under water breathing while simultaneously letting the beauty I beheld under the sea take my breath away. I was amazed by all the colors, the creatures, and ultimately, the Creator.
My underwater exploration painted a spiritual picture for me of the beauty that awaits me when I choose to dive deeper into my devotion to God, deeper into His Word, and deeper into discipleship with other others.
It is a beauty that is magnified by truth. I don’t have to doubt what I read and study because I can trust the Author. Just like He created the depths of the sea to hold such beauty, He spoke His Word for you and me, used men to pen it, and for the past several millennia, He has defended it. It is reliable and trustworthy throughout time (even more so than my scuba gear and guide the day of my dive).
It is the only truth in which to trust, the only depth in which to delve, and the only hope in which to hope. Nothing else will satisfy. This is not something new, it is an age old truth, and it is truly calling out to me and you...
Deep calls to deep…
“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” (Psalm 42:7, ESV)
God’s desire for His people is not that we pick and choose the truths that are easy to use. In fact, when we do, we often misuse and abuse God’s truth and its original intent to not only inform us, but transform us.
We cheapen grace any time we justify sin.
Sin is falling short of God’s standard. Yes, those in Christ are covered by His blood, and His grace is powerful and sufficient enough to cover our sin and make us right with Him. But Paul says in the New Testament,
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2, ESV)
Just because God loved us so much to make a way through His son, Jesus, to save us from sin, does not mean He suddenly changed His mind in regard to how He feels about sin or what He defines as sin.
If sin is an abomination to the God of all creation, then who are we to think just because He set us free from the bondage of that sin, we are free to continue in that sin?
The perpetuation of any abomination grieves the heart of the Father who sent His son for our sanctification. Like Paul said,
“By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2, ESV)
Deep calls out to deep…
Going deep requires total immersion. It is more than a quick dip or splashing around in the shallowness of substitute truths. Substitute truths are merely lies in disguise. They do not have the depth and power required to cover the sin that so easily entangles us.
We live in a world that beautifies soft lies because it can’t handle hard truths.
If you love me you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15, ESV)
Jesus said it, and He meant it. Obeying Him does not diminish the grace He calls us to embrace. It enhances it. The deeper we dive into understanding and living out God‘s Word, the more beautiful His grace becomes.
But we must also embrace what what God says about sin. There are action steps we must take into the depth He’s calling us to.
What does He say about sin?
What are we to do?
We are to repent and turn from it, not keep living in it so that grace can abound, and not explain it away because we’re too weak and fragile to face it and trust the only One who can truly fix it.
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:3-8, ESV)
We live in a world that would rather believe a pretty little lie over a hard to understand truth.
God’s truth is revealed and repeated throughout scripture, and it has a depth of true beauty this world will never fully recognize because it doesn’t realize the power of the lies that are keeping it blind.
If the deception keeps getting deeper and deeper (and it does), then we must go deeper and deeper into the truth of God’s Word. It is the only way we will stay grounded, rooted, and established. When we abide in Him, we cannot hide from Him by giving into sin.
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-6, ESV)
Did you get that? “The {little g} god of this world {Satan} has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Only DEEP truth can defeat DEEP lies.
It is time to rise up and do the work God has called us to do as believers in Jesus Christ. But we cannot do it by wading in the waters of shallow faith and cheapened grace.
Deep calls out to deep…
God is unchanging, but He is always changing us.
One question I’ve been asking myself recently: “Am I trying to change God?”
Am I trying to create and communicate a version of Him that is more relatable in the world we live in?
Am I trying to make His Word more palatable to those who are struggling with some of its hard truths?
Am I embracing the comfort and ease of shallower things because I’m afraid of being uncomfortable and challenged by the deeper things?
It’s time to stop this shallow living. It’s empty and hollow and can never hold the fullness and the depth of God’s great love — a love that is truly unfathomable, but oh so attainable when we go deep and truly take hold of all His promises.
Deep calls out to deep…
Are you ready to go deep?