stand on the shore or BE the pier

Recently, a friend sent me this picture of a pier. I have one similar to it that I took myself, but for some reason, when I got the picture, it evoked in me a thought that I couldn't escape.
Perhaps, it was the pilings driven into the sand, deep so that the pier would remain stable when the storm tossed waves crashed against the pier, trying to rock it's foundation to no avial. Perhaps, it was the idea of being able to stand out IN the water on the pier and feel as though you were walking on it, above it and through it.
And while those are certainly things that I could make "preach", I think the thought that continues to strike a chord in my soul has more to do with standing on the shore. We stand on the shore and look at the firm foundation of the pier, seeing it's strength and it's stability. We look at the pier and sometimes even enjoy it's view, walk out on it, but only to return to shore. We stand on the shore and look at the pier...
Nothing wrong with that...I guess. But what if instead of standing on the shore looking at the pier, we became the pier. That person that was driven deep and had a rock solid foundation that couldn't be shaken. That person that stretched out past the safety of the shore into the deep water, seeming as if they could walk on it, in it and through it. That person that made a way for others to walk out further from shore into the deep to experience greatness. That person that went further so that others could too.
I love to walk the beach, stand on the shore and enjoy the view. But I think I want to BE the pier. Building a pier is no easy task. It doesn't just happen and it is not without undergrowth that has to be stripped away even after it is established. But we need some piers....people who will go further and make a way for others to see that the shore is not the coolest place...it is nice, but reaching for the deep is awesome.
Let's drive some pilings down, make a firm foundation and build a pier....
ALL FOR YOU