John 3:8 (NIV) "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
Consider three kinds of water vessels: The motorboat, the raft, and the sailboat.
The motorboat offers direct, controlled movement powered by an engine. The raft is a slow-moving vessel with limited control, subject to obeying the wind and the waves. The sailboat is an interactive craft, relying on the wind to move it but requiring skill and adaptation to navigate it.
Borrowing from a John Ortberg analogy, these three kinds of water craft are similar to our practical faith approaches. The motorboat type is all about self-effort; we supply all the power. The raft type is where we just cling to the raft and go wherever the current takes us. The sailboat's power comes from the Spirit wind; it is not a passive ride, but interactive. Like a sailboat captain, we try to discern where the wind is coming from and where it is blowing, then we adjust our sails to catch the wind and move with it.
As Jesus describes it to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John, the Spirit wind is unpredictable, but we can see its effects. We can especially see its effects on our sailboats.
I like the three boats analogy because it gives us clear purpose in our spiritual lives. It's not all up to us; the Holy Spirit is leading the way. But it's also not all up to God; we don't just hold on for the ride. Instead, we interact with the Spirit wind, sensing where God wants to lead us next, and adjusting our attitudes and lives to match holy direction.
How can we re-equip our motorboats and rafts to become sailboats? And once we have sailboats, how we can become more skilled at discerning and adapting to new direction?
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