Individuals that love their jobs make it seem easy. Mark and Oliver are examples. One loves flying. The other loves being out on a boat. From my experience with them, everything is simple, straight forward, and smooth. I almost thought I could do what they do.
Mark flies a single engine prop plane that is 46 years old. The gauges are current and it is safe to fly. The plane takes off and lands on water. It does not require much room to do either. As I sat next to Mark as he flew us to Silver Salmon Creek, his actions were smooth, deliberate, and confidence filling. As I look back on the hour we spent together in the air, I cannot remember a moment where Mark was not actively engaged in checking, rechecking, and triple checking his gauges and what was going on around him.
Oliver captains a new boat custom made for the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. The boat’s interior is functional, nothing more. There is little about the boat that one would label as “fancy”. It is purposeful and intentional. Oliver loves this boat and it shows. During my time on the boat, it was easy to relax given his quiet confidence.
In both cases, it would be a mistake to assume that one could take over their roles. I would love to fly. I would love to be able to pilot a boat. My love is not enough to qualify me to take on either task. Even my awareness of what I do not know is not enough. I need more.
It is good to know when more is needed. Ignorance never served anyone. In the past, one wisdom father saw that a group thinking they had arrived. He understood they needed more. His response was bluntly positive. “’John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you’ve been baptized in John’s baptism, you’re ready now for the real thing, for Jesus.” (Acts 19.4)
