Reflections on the Beach: The Busted Flip Flop

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Eleven

"The Busted Flip Flop"

Focus Text: Psalm 1:1

   A few weeks ago my wife and I managed to get away to the beach for a short overnight stay. We were walking down the boardwalk, hand in hand, listening to the ever-rolling waves crashing against the shore. The sun had set and the streetlights were starting to come to life. We were headed straight toward our favorite ice cream spot when all of a sudden the unexpected happened (let's be honest, the unexpected always happens all of a sudden, or else it wouldn't be unexpected). Tiffanie said "Ut Oh" and showed me her now busted flip-flop. It was beyond repair, there was no way to resuscitate it, its time had come. The only problem was that we were too far to return to the hotel to get her sneakers. Tiffanie tried to continue to walk with the broken flip-flop. Needless to say, our pace was a lot slower, there was plenty of laughter, and it complicated what was an ordinary journey for ice cream.

      Jimmy Buffett wasn't the only one who blew out his flip-flop. We've all had the thong on our flip flop give way, usually at the most inopportune time. It's hard to walk on a broken sandal but it's even more difficult to walk faithfully when our life is broken. The Bible makes it clear that Christians are never supposed to be able to sin with success. When Christ-followers deviate from the path and go into unrepentant sin we can expect our journey to be complicated. We will find our passion for Jesus cool, our prayer life goes on life support, devotional life evaporates, and our life becomes murky. In Psalm 1:1 the Psalmist says that a man is blessed when he doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, stands with sinners, and sits with the scornful. The idea behind blessed means happy, or complete. There will never be true joy or 'completion' in our life when we choose to live in the trifles of sin. We are choosing to walk on a broken pathway and then complaining when life is hard.  What path are you walking? What is the result of that path?

Reflections on the Road

    Too many of us are walking on 'broken flip flops' spiritually. We are too far from Jesus, we aren't listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and we are too often living for ourselves. If you tire from trying to maneuver a broken life, then repent and put Jesus back into the number one spot in your life.