Many of us are drowning in our own egos. We spend our lives preoccupied with our desires, and our self-image, reacting to every stimulus that comes our way with no thought or restraint. We live on a purely natural level disregarding the supernatural invitation from God.
The person in the painting is sinking, barely aware of his or her desperate situation. Christ’s hand is in the water, ready to save.
When we realize that we are drowning in self-idolatry and hear God’s call of grace, all that is required of us is to reach out for the Savior’s hand.
Christ’s redeeming sacrifice awaits the assent of our autonomy.
Unfortunately, with that same autonomy we can feel self-reliant and ignore grace, which in the end would drown us into nothingness.