Swimming between the flags

About three weeks ago I was in Scarborough, and took advantage of a sunny morning to take one of my favourite walks along Marine Drive.  Marine Drive was constructed at the end of the nineteenth century, and is the connecting road between Scarborough’s north and south bays.  On one side are the cliffs which lead up to the ancient castle; on the other is the North Sea.

Having reached the North Bay area, I looked out over the sands and noticed two flags which had been placed there by lifeguards.  Along with the two flags there was a notice which instructed users of the beach that they should only swim in that part of the sea situated between the two flags.  Scarborough has lovely beaches, which slope gradually down towards the sea, and I have always regarded them as ideal for bathing (if you can cope with the less than Mediterranean temperatures!)  My first reaction to the notice was to think that the lifeguards were being unnecessarily restrictive in seeking to limit swimming to such a relatively small part of the beach.

As I thought more about it, however, I acknowledged that their purpose in placing the restriction was in ensuring the safety and security of the users of the beach, and in particular the swimmers.  Of course, swimmers still had a choice.  They could choose to follow the instructions and know that they were in a safe area, with someone watching out for their welfare and security.  On the other hand, they could choose to disregard the instructions and accept the risk which comes with the choice (a number of people have drowned in the sea at Scarborough and other seaside resorts over the years).

As I pondered this situation, into my mind dropped the clear parallel with God’s instructions for living as we find them in the Bible.  God tells us the best way to live, yet he also gives human beings the gift of free will.  We can choose to either embrace God’s ways or reject them.  As we look around our society and the world today, we can see clearly some of the consequences of choosing to disregard God’s way.  Just listen to the news headlines!

Some have the opinion that the Bible is out of date and no longer relevant, and that we human beings can live our lives perfectly well without reference to God.  All one needs to do to recognise the fallacy of that belief is to imagine how life would be improved if, for example, human beings lived by the 10 Commandments; that in itself will tell us how much better it is to live in obedience to God.  It really is much safer to swim between the flags!