But a wide sea voyage severs us at once. It makes us conscious of being cast loose from the secure anchorage of settled life, and sent adrift upon a doubtful world. It interposes a gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes--a gulf, subject to tempest, and fear, and uncertainty, rendering distance palpable, and return precarious.
In many ways, this is an apt description of life as a disciple of a crucified Messiah. Our baptism marks the beginning of our voyage. It indeed severs us from what we knew and the distance it creates enables us to see differently our lives and our world. We become aware of the illusory sense of security we attempted to secure for ourselves and our families. The life of a crucified Messiah, in which we were plunged, certainly removes the tethers of a comfortable life and pushes us onto a sea fraught with failure and grace, fear and comfort, the anxiety of doubt and the peace of faith. We feel as if torn between what we knew as our home and what we’re coming to know as our true home. Our lives currently occupy that space between; between what we knew and what we’re coming to know, between what we were and what we’re becoming. We surely know the fear and the uncertainty of which Geoffrey speaks when in this space between we experience distance behind and ahead. At many points, we question if we made the right decision setting off on this voyage either because of our continuing sinfulness within or because of persistent enticements without. In this space between, one thing is certain, despite our poor seamanship, that the winds of God’s grace will steadily propel us homeward.