Flowing with the tides of our source

I had the opportunity to do something over memorial day weekend that I haven't had the chance to do in a while. I went fishing at the beach. Surf fishing is something that I really enjoy. It's a great opportunity to get out, enjoy the outdoors, and spend some much needed time with God. I didn't know much about surf fishing when I first started, but I have learned a lot over the past few years.One thing I have learned is how important it is to look at the tide schedules to determine what time of day to fish. You see, the fish have to move with the tide. When the tide comes in, the fish come in with it. When the tide goes out, they go out with it. When the tide is not moving, the fish are not as active. Essentially, the water is their source of life, and they have to go where it allows them to go.Could you imagine how ridiculous it would be if the fish decided to stay up on the beach when the tide went from high to low? What if the fish found a lot of food up on the beach during high tide, and wanted to stay there and feed rather than going back to where the water was guiding them?  They would end up on the beach, unable to swim freely and without any Oxygen filtering through their gills. They would suffocate and die.When God first brought the idea for this post to my mind, it seemed like a ridiculous analogy. Why would a fish ever do something like that? Fish know that they have to stay in the water. Fish instinctively know that they cannot survive without it. Then it hit me. How often do I act like one of these hypothetical fish that doesn't follow the tide? Unlike the fish, my source is Jesus, not the water. In one of my favorite bible chapters, John 15, Jesus tells His disciples, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."Jesus is telling His disciples that He is their source. Much like a fish without water, He tells the disciples that without Him they will wither and die. We absolutely cannot live a life that produces everlasting fruit, unless we are connected to Jesus and we follow wherever he leads us. When Jesus tells us that the tide is rising, we should rise with it. When He says that it is time for the tide to recede, we should immediately fall back with it and rest. If we trust and follow Him, we won't be struggling up on the beach fighting for food and Oxygen. We will swim freely and operate effectively in the environment He has placed us.There are so many reasons why we choose to disobey; lack of trust, fear, pride, selfishness. The list goes on and on. However, Jesus' answer to all of these reasons is the same. His answer is love. The sort of love that drove Him to the cross despite our disobedience. The type of love that led Him to say, "I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." I am not writing this today to make anyone feel bad about their disobedience. We have an enemy that is doing a pretty good job of that. I just wanted to remind you that Jesus loves you despite your disobedience, and it is that unconditional love that will move you past your fears and onto a life of trust and faith. That love is what empowers us to rise and recede with tides of our source.