The Wondrous Ocean

Wave upon crashing wave; the dull yet distinctive roar they make, rolling and rolling in continual, lulling rumbles. It’s as if all the world is attuned to this singular concurrence of converging velocities. Though you set not a foot near its edges, you are immersed in it—in a soul-enrapturing waltz of tranquility.

Why is it that the ocean has such an effect on people? What is so mesmerizing, so peace-inducing about its majesty? Perhaps it is because it speaks of a time long past, the dawn of creation—when the Father made the oceans and declared His work “good.” Genesis 1:9-10—“And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.”

Maybe it’s because the sea represents life, thus the description of its animation in Genesis 1:20-21: “And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds,…”

Perhaps the spirit within each of us recognizes the significance of water in the story of our lives as God’s children—the Great Flood, resulting in God’s enduring promise, represented by the rainbow; the crossing of the Red Sea unto freedom (a type of our “new life” in Christ);“the washing with water of the word” (Ephesians 5:26); Jesus walking on the water and beckoning one not so unlike us (Peter) to do the same; and of course, the command for believers to be baptized in identification with Christ’s death and resurrection—as an act of obedience to Him.

The ocean is unarguably a mighty among mighty of all forces. One can neither tame it nor master it. It remains a reflection of the nature of its Creator—vast, undaunted, powerful—a force to be reckoned with. But at the same time, it engenders immeasurable quietude. Those who visit the ocean and are awed by it long to go back—to once again let the “aaaaah” of refreshment and away-ness wash over them.

The ocean, a wonder to see, smell, touch, hear—to taste the salty mist it emits—what could be more satisfying than a surfside sanctuary? Forget movies, malls, even ballgames—take me out to the ocean. Where I can celebrate its creator; where I can hear my Father’s voice in the bellow of its billows—where He’ll whisper sweet truths to me alone. “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me” (Psalm 42:7).