The Beach, The Bike, The Boy, and the Seagull

Well, I think I've seen it all - there I was running along our beach once more over the weekend with my seagull friend - the one I mentioned on my blog on 30th August this year.

I'm sure it's the same seagull - he/she loves me and runs with me most Saturdays and Sundays now. I'm sure they wait for me and join up as soon as I arrive - it's uncanny! - Anyway, there we were, my seagull friend and me, running along the beach on an early Saturday morning only to be amazingly dodged by a lad on a bike!!

There was the beach, there was my friend the seagull, and there was me, and suddenly there was a bike and a young boy, which I'm sure must have been heading for either my seagull friend or me. Both my seagull best friend and I got a shock - they flew away, and I dodged "the bullet" and dived onto the sand. The lad laughed his head off and took off like a rocket.

My question is: How can a lad of around 14 to 15 years old manage to ride a motorised 2 wheel bike on the sand? He laughed so much, and I could still hear him laughing even as I neared the end of my run. It was pretty funny, I must admit. I just hope my friend and buddy Mr/Ms Seagull comes back to go running with me.

Made me wonder about all the different things that are happening in the world today and how many others are affected by what is happening. The other thing that I must think about is what brings a young boy to show a seagull, and another guy just who is more important. Did get home to me, I guess - even though I really did see the humour of it all.

I guess we could have collided. My seagull friend took off like a V2 rocket, but me nosediving in the sand. He thought it was hilariously funny. I guess it was, but it really made me think.

Unfortunately, a fair number of people really don't care what is happening around them. But then, fortunately, a lot of people do care; unfortunately, there are quite a few who couldn't care less what happens when things go haywire in their lives or other people's lives. When things can suddenly go off the planet, affecting our lives, where do we go and what do we do?

I'm sure my friend on the bike had the most amazing day, and he loved it. I must admit I still give a smile, just hoping he doesn't do it again, as my friend the seagull and I trundle along on our beach exploration each weekend. He obviously wanted desperately to be Number one regardless of everyone else. 

It was a great lesson for me. Although I could see the funny side of it, it could have resulted in an accident, and I guess the attitude of the young guy was completely wrong. He could have hit someone on the bike. I did notice him riding really fast along the promenade and lots of people dodging out of his way. He was virtually getting this message across: 'Get out of my way - I have got full right of way here."

Down the middle of the road he went and vanished from sight over the hill, and I must admit I was a bit flabbergasted. He certainly left not just me but a few others in a bit of a shock, including my seagull friend.

Back when Jesus' life here on earth was drawing to a close, there was this most powerful person in all of Jerusalem other than the Roman governor. It was Caiaphas; he was, by today's standards, a pretty powerful politician. He was right up there with the governor, and he was a vicious enemy of Jesus. He really felt that he, not Jesus or anyone else for that matter, was number one in the world.

Caiaphas didn't ride a bike on the beach, but like Caiaphas, my young friend really felt he was number one in the world. Pushing himself forward, like Caiaphas, making decisions that affected others to a pretty large degree. He really felt he ruled the world and was indeed in charge.

It all came about when Jesus was doing a lot of miracles, and the one that really impacted good old Caiaphas was when Jesus resurrected his very close friend Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. Caiaphas saw that as someone taking over his popularity personally, and he really had to get rid of this Jesus guy.

Caiaphas also really felt that the whole population was astounded at the Jesus person, so putting Jesus to death publicly and humiliatingly might not only bring the glory back to Caiaphas himself but also stop the Romans from coming down upon them. How wrong could he have been?

Caiaphas was so full of himself that he has gone down in history for that reason, and also putting Jesus to death wasn't a solution at all but actually brought about the end of the Hebrew nation as it was then.

In the Bible, in Matthew chapter 26, Jesus was telling his disciples that after two days he was going to be betrayed, then he was going to be crucified. How ghastly was that! Jesus knew what was going to happen, and he also knew that Caiaphas was going to be the one organising the whole thing!

Caiaphas the High Priest would have been rubbing his hands together in delight as he assembled all the chief priests, the scribes, and all the elders of the people into his palace. No wonder he wanted the Jesus person out of the way - Caiaphas was living in a palace!

They all got together and shrewdly worked out how they could take this Jesus person by subtlety and then kill him. Two days later it was the Passover, so they realised that it had to be before that or after that. They all decided to get rid of Jesus before Passover - what an idea! 

That's exactly what they did, and good old Caiaphas got his own way and organised Jesus to be arrested, cruelly and horribly tortured, whipped until no skin was left on his back, made him carry a huge cross to Calvary, then nailed him to it and let him die in agony. Good old Caiaphas!

Actually, Jesus died for you and for me. When he was making his way up to Calvary that day, he was not only carrying that horrible and filthy old cross on his back that must have felt like it weighed a ton, considering it was a tree, but all the sins of the world as well, including yours and mine! Jesus rose again just three days after the crucifixion.

When we accept that He took our sins upon His shoulders and paid the price, all we have to do is ask Him to lead our lives and put Him first in every situation we find ourselves in.

Do that and pray for God to lead us, and our sins are over and done with, even the ones we commit so often. Jesus took the penalty for our sins and killed them there and then on that hillside so many years ago. 

Of course, we all have a choice: There is Heaven and there is hell; we can accept what Jesus did for us, or we can totally ignore it and pretend it never happened. The choice is yours to make:  It is entirely your choice.

God's huge blessing to you this week, and I certainly do intend to go back to Bar Beach, Dixon Park Beach, and Merewether Beach this coming weekend. Hopefully I will see my little seagull friend.