DEEP WATER

The conversation turned quickly. I was in deep water. I enjoy talking to Jon who has a doctorate degree in physics—a brilliant research scientist. Yet he can easily talk over my head.

We discussed a movie about Moses and the Jewish people I had recently viewed. I believe the movie’s miraculous Biblical portrayal: “By faith the people passed through the Red Sea on dry land.” By faith.

Jon had recently seen a movie on the same subject. The very way he said, “Educational television,” informed me that his movie version was superior. He didn’t dispute the Bible and the fact of the occurrence. He just needed to inform me of some fresh scientific facts.

I was about to be educated; I was in deep water.

He came to the crux of the issue informing me of a supposed misspelling in the Biblical text. Moses and the Jewish people actually passed through the Reed Sea not the Red Sea.

Oh. And the Reed Sea was only ankle deep. A wind blew the water hard enough to make a dry path allowing 3 million Jews to easily scamper away from the pursuing Egyptian army. Not a faith event but a windy day.

My faith held firm; I still believe in the miracles. Jon basically accepted the biblical account; it just needed fine tuning because of the “unfortunate” spelling error.

The Bible says: “But when the Egyptians tried to pass through the Red Sea they were drowned.” I asked Jon about the largest, most powerful army in the world at the time: “How did the Egyptian army drown in ankle deep water?”

Jon grinned, scrunched his eyes, was silent for a moment-- “I didn’t think of that.”

Without faith, a person encounters many I-didn’t-think-of-that moments in life. Without faith you’ll be in deep water.