Fear the Boom

   There were seconds to decide. We were on vacation in Canada with some of our relatives.

   I could sail my sloop, but was not an expert. We headed across the lake, my young daughter and a niece aboard.

   Wind was blowing over the port side, giving us a good ride. We neared the opposite shore. There wasn’t enough room to make an easy turn with the wind,  so we would need to make a hard 180 into the wind.

   The mainsail had a metal boom along its bottom. The kids were sitting on the port side, elevated as the boat listed to the right. 

   Executing the necessary maneuver into that wind would result in a violent swing of the boom, knocking them out, and possibly out of the boat.     

   I yelled, “When I say GO! duck your heads and move to the other side! Don’t let the boom hit you!” When I was sure they understood…

   I did a metaniono.

   The first command John the Baptist gave to those who flocked to him was “repent.” The first command Jesus gave when he began to preach was “repent.”

   Jesus repeated this numerous times, warning those who don’t repent. 

   The risen Jesus, in Revelation 2, complimented the Church at Ephesus for numerous good deeds, hard work and perseverance amid hardships. But he scolded them for forsaking their “first love,” declining to love and obey the Lord himself. He ordered them to repent, else he would remove them from his kingdom.

   In Greek, repent is metaniono, a 180-degree turn in life.

   So, I yelled "GO!" and pushed hard on the rudder. Our sailboat swung around, rocked a bit, and no one died. 

   Fear the Lord…and you will have hope of eternal life, forever free from the troubled world we wrote about yesterday.  

               Jimmy