Editor’s note: This article was submitted for publication Fall 2018. This is a late upload.
By: Rev. David Wilson Rogers
Ephesians 4:14 says, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” It is a powerful image that reminds Christians of the importance of being well anchored in genuine faith.
Consider the vital nature of the buoy. As an essential aid to navigation, the buoy is critical for guiding ships into port safely. Much like curbs and stripes mark the path for cars and trucks to travel along a road, it is the network of buoys that communicates the same message of right-of-way to oceangoing ships. Without buoys, ship captains would find it very difficult to know where the channels are, where the dangerous shoals are, and to what side of the channel they need to stay for safe passage.
Yet, the buoy also floats on top of the water. To some extent, it is tossed to and fro on the waves of the ocean. It moves with the currents, rises and falls with the tide, and bobs up and down with the waves. Its motion, however, is very minimal. The buoy does not stray far from its placement, unless it has broken from its anchor.
Beneath the bobbing and floating buoy is a chain that extends to the very bottom of the ocean and is attached to a large concrete block. The chain is just long enough to allow the buoy to adjust to the changing tides and currents, but not so long that it allows the buoy to stray too far from its designated station. So long as the buoy remains firmly anchored to its base, it is able to provide guidance, safety, and direction to all the ship captains who depend on its stalwart presence to guide their way. Without that anchor, however, the buoy is a worthless piece of debris floating aimlessly—and dangerously—in the waters. Not only can it lead mariners astray, it could actually cause a catastrophic disaster.
The Christian could learn a lot from the buoy. Part of one’s Christian witness is the way that Christians help guide people to safety, security, and salvation in Christ. Yet, all-too-often Christians fall victim to the warnings of Ephesians 4:14. When one truly gets tossed about on the winds of doctrine, trickery, and deceitful scheming, it is evidence that the moorings to our faithful anchors have broken. Like a buoy adrift, such a Christian is no longer doing any good for Christ and may actually be endangering others without even realizing the peril they create.
In today’s modern world the ubiquitous nature of social media, fake news, politicized religious rhetoric, and prevalence of manipulative messages throughout news and media—even from many pulpits—the demonic influence of deceptive doctrine, craftiness, deceitful scheming, and trickery have caused many Christians to unwittingly break ties with their faithful anchor and drift dangerously in the tides of populism.
For the Christian, one’s anchor must be the firm witness of Scripture grounded in faithful and prayerful devotion. It is not enough to simply read the English translation and assume that the long chain of translation and interpretation has no error. To do so invalidates the living vibrance of God’s sacred word. Rather, a faithful Christian must study, pray, and discuss scripture in the community of faithful believers committed to reaching the profound and wonderful depths that faith and scripture has to offer.
When firmly anchored in faith, the Christian is well-positioned to guide and inform the world for God’s glory. It is, in many ways, the calling to which Christ calls all Christians!
