UNDER THE BOARDWALK
The beauty of this pier has a dark side, just like so many of us.
I love being at Wrightsville Beach in view of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier. Something about the structure is just plain cool. Maybe it’s the steadfastness with which those structures stand up … the rhythm of low & high tides, the sun, heat, ice and wind. Not to mention the occasional named storm that comes along. The pier was built in the 1930’s and after hurricane Fran destroyed it in 1996, it was rebuilt as the current concrete structure extending out over 1,200 feet into the Atlantic Ocean.
A pier like this is both a functional tool, but also a notable piece of art. It has been photographed, painted, used as a landmark and background for movies and wedding photos. However, the pier has a dark secret. It has an underbelly. A shadow of its character and its beauty. Literally, under the pier is a dark, damp gross covering of barnacles, mold, sea-growth and decay.
That is also true of most of us…. really, all of us! We are all works in progress. And unfortunately for those of us who are worship leaders or public figures in the church, we take a stage and put only our BEST parts on display. And that really does make sense… we wouldn’t be scheduled much if all we talked about was the dark sin-crap that we are still struggling with and how we blew it once again yesterday. But the reality is that we all have those places. The hidden. The “upside-down” as one kid once said! And it’s in those places that all sorts of muck shows up - actually it flourishes there. I love how Andy Stanley said it, that “nothing good ever grows in the dark”.
But then Jesus. That’s where the story, our story, always finds hope and redemption. Jesus shows up and reaches into our darkness, through the slime and muck that we allow to stay hidden, and He restores our hearts. What I love about the hope of glory that we all live by, is that Jesus never asked for PERFECT BEHAVIOR. He knows better. He knows us too well. What he has asked us for is PERSEVERING FAITH. Faith in God who is continually shaping and forming. Faith in God who allows the beating of waves against our soul to allow the muck and underside to be exposed. Faith in God who is reckless in his love and extension of his love towards us. Faith that moves us, as Eugene Petersen puts it, “with LONG obedience in the SAME direction”.
This has been a tough season for me as I have had my faith and perseverance tested on more than one occasion - perhaps for many of you as well. We have experienced the underside of some beautiful pier-like structures. Thanks be to God for the call of Persevering Faith. And how freeing & liberating it is for us to take on the attitude and mindset of Jesus’ call to simply love people - exactly as they are. Exactly where they are. Just like Jesus did. Living like this, after all, is what gives authenticity and validation to all of our worship.
When we can learn that level of authentic & humble leadership - when we lead from the place of our weaknesses and struggles, then we will share in the same tears as those we are leading. We will have no problem finding common ground with those we are serving. We will create connections to those whose eyes we look into and know that while we share in similar struggles, we also share in the same redemptive work that God is crafting in our hearts.
The next time you see a pier, or visit WB’s Jonnie Mercer’s, be reminded of not just the beautiful topside that everyone sees… but also the underside that is still awaiting God’s renovation.
