I’ll stay out of the ocean

Avoid the ocean deep, where danger is abound

Even where there’s beauty, danger lurks

It was a sight to behold. It never had happened to me in all my ministerial days. Picture this: a beach wedding on the Gulf of Mexico. The bride was as lovely as any bride and the groom was in a striking tuxedo. There were bridesmaids as well as groom attendants. All the normal stuff of a wedding. And I was there in my ministerial best to officiate at the beautiful, beach ceremony.

Not known to me as I was leading the couple through their vows, but up the beach about 30 yards a fisherman was pulling in his catch of the day. The half of the wedding crowd that could see what was taking place up the beach were totally distracted from the wedding and focused on the fisherman and what he was reeling in. As soon as the Amen was said, half of the crowd took off running toward the fisherman.

He had landed a six foot shark just yards from the wedding. What did I do? I ran over to see what was happening. Cameras that were brought to record the wedding were now recording the shark as the fisherman was trying to dislodge his hook so the shark could go free. What a sight. Wedding attendees were getting their photographs taken as they timidly touched the shark’s fin. Did I touch the shark? No way.

Of course for most of us this was a first. I had never been that close to a shark that could, conceivably, take a hold of someone’s leg.

The moral of the story? Of course for a preacher, the beach shark encounter has lots of room for sermon exploration. But what comes to me immediately is that danger lurks all so closely to the most wonderful and beautiful events of life. I can’t think of a more beautiful picture than a man marrying a woman. The apostle Paul used the coming together of a man and woman as an analogy of Christ and his church (Christ being the groom and the church being the bride).

But even there, danger is just swimming ever so close. The proof was the landing of the shark. But the danger is mostly found if we are where we should not be. I decided long ago that I do not need to be swimming out in the ocean. That belongs to other folks and creatures. But just let us go out a few yards in the ocean’s deep and we run into serious trouble.

For example, I really don’t need to be running or driving the streets in the late evening or in the early morning hours. I should be in the security of my home and perhaps bed. When we hear news stories about a young man or woman found dead, we hear the rest of the story that he or she was last seen leaving a pub or the likes at 1:30 a.m. That’s dangerous living.

Impress it upon the minds of your children that there are just some places at certain times they don’t need to be. Regardless how innocent or beautiful things may appear on the surface, danger lurks beneath or just a few yards away.