I’m reminded to cling to Christ. More specifically, I’m reminded to cling to the good news of Christ—the gospel. It is life and death. The wind is howling, the waves are building, and life is coming at me with all its fury. What have I to cling to? Hold fast to the gospel. Cling to Christ.

As a young teen, one of my favourite pastimes when the wind blew strong from the north was to head down to the jagged shoreline near my home and cling to a rock.

Don’t judge; there wasn’t a lot to do in my sleepy coastal town!

My mates and I would head down to the beach, find a spot where the wind-whipped waves were crashing over the rocks, malign each others manliness until one-by-one we climbed out into a precarious position and waited for the onslaught.

It was stupid, but it was still kind of fun, and I have great memories connected to this juvenile pastime. The worst that ever happened was when my mate Nigel was tumbled over the rocks and emerged somewhat “de-barked.”

The waves were never that big. Our lives were never really in danger. But I can remember clinging on with grim resolve lest I be the one washed off first.

Of course, if the stakes had been higher, if the waves were bigger, if the drop-off was greater, well, things would have been different. My ‘clinging’ would have shifted to another gear altogether. No longer fighting for childish bragging rights, I would have been clinging on for life itself.

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