Keep Swimming

I saw a great movie a little while back called The Guardian.  It starred Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher as rescue swimmers for the coast guard.  During one scene in the movie, Ashton Kutcher looks up at Kevin Costner as he is about to head out to save the crew of a sinking ship, he looks up and asks Kevin "What if I can't save them all? Who do I choose?"  

The older, wiser, more experienced rescue swimmer looks Ashton in the eyes and says "You don't. You keep swimming as hard as you can, for as long as you can, and you don't stop until its all over."

That really struck me.  Many times in my life I make decisions, whether conscious or not, to focus the Gospel on certain people. Sometimes I look at those around me with eyes that judge, and a heart that hardens toward those who seem less "likely" to receive the message.   

I know that I focus my teaching moments and my preaching moments on certain people.  Sometimes I focus on people who I believe might actually respond positively.  Thats the kind of ministry that you see yourself doing in your head.  I always picture myself presenting the message to these people only to see them awaken and respond to Christ immediately.  These are often the "good" people that I somehow think would just love Jesus if they could just meet Him.

For Ashton, these would be the easy ones to save.  These would be the guys who were just floating on their backs, calmly waiting for him to scoop them up out of the ocean.  

The harder ones to save are the guys trapped inside the sinking boat.  The people trapped deeply within the confines of wretched and blatant sin.  Those are the people I often shy away from when looking for Gospel candidates.  

It would seem logical.  Why waste time on people who most likely will not listen, people who will not make it? 

It may seem logical, but only so long as we forget that God is in control of the operation. Jesus told us in the great commission to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations."  When God is the one who saves and redeems, I do not need to worry about targeting His message.  

Nothing I can say will make it more or less attractive to any one person, so long as I tell it accurately. But I must keep telling it, no matter who is listening.  

This is why Costner replies to Ashton's question "What if I can't save them all? Who do I choose?" with "You don't".  

I don't choose who is saved and who is not.  God chooses that. My job is simply to keep swimming as hard as I can, for as long as I can, and not to stop until its all over.