Anti-Fouling Paint
How God is Like the Paint Found on the Bottom of Sailboats
(this is a rough draft from my upcoming Christian Observational book, God is Like Sailing)
The seafarer's secret weapon against barnacles is also our defense against sin.
Each year, sailors must perform maintenance on their boats. One of the biggest tasks is replacing the bottom paint. This paint isn't just for decorative purposes but acts as a protective layer against sea creatures. While it won’t protect against a kraken, it does help protect you against the millions of little critters that want to make the bottom of your boat their new home.
If you let your boat sit in the water for too long, the bottom will start to resemble a reef. Mussels, barnacles, little shrimp, and other marine life will attach themselves to your boat. If left unchecked, it can cause damage to the boat and slow it down. The extra weight and resistance in the water can dramatically reduce the speed at which you can sail. This is why sailors paint the bottom of the boat with anti-fouling paint. This special chemical mixture helps impede the growth of barnacles and other marine life.
Special ablative paints flake off when a barnacle tries to take hold, making it hard for anything to grab on.
The Bible says,
let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us. – Hebrews 12:1 (Voice)
If we aren't careful, our "little" sins will cling to our lives. They'll make a home in our hearts, slowing us down, causing drag in our walk, and damaging our lives. We need to be covered in Christ's ablative anti-fouling paint. So, what is the solution?
"But if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]." – 1 John 1:7 (AMP)
The blood of Jesus, His forgiveness, and a relationship with Him is our anti-fouling paint. Just like sailors coat their boats in anti-fouling paint so they can sail unhindered, God provided us with the blood of Jesus so we could live free from the burden of sin.