I can still remember spending a fruitless couple of hours waiting to watch the famous ‘Seven Bore,’ I was a sixth former at the time and keen to see a tidal surge that I was told is a ‘truly spectacular phenomena.’ But it just didn’t happen, at least not on the scale I expected and I returned home tired and more than little a little frustrated.

The Pill Hobblers know all about the tides on the River Severn. At Avonmouth, on the Severn Estuary near Pill, the difference between high and low tide can be as much as 40-feet (12.3 metres) - the second highest tidal range in the world. With each rising tide, enormous volumes of water push into the mouth of the river from the Bristol Channel, only to flow out again a few hours later.

The village of Pill was famous for the skill of its pilots but, as I discovered the other day, it is well known for its ‘Hobblers’ too. As you might expect, cargoes from the larger ships are often transferred to smaller craft to make the journey and the Pill Hobblers hauled the smaller boats upriver using the towpath and sometimes horses. The Hobblers also towed ships into Bristol with rowboats. Steam tugs eventually took over, but Pill still has its Hobblers who do the same job they have done for centuries handing down the skills and intimate knowledge of the river from one generation to another.

I learned about the Pill Hobblers whilst listening to BBC’s ‘Open Country’ and was mightily impressed with their dedication and willingness to brave the elements on a daily basis. But it was the phrase ‘from generation to generation’ that stuck in my mind because it reminded me of something Jesus told His disciples the night before He died.

“Love one another,” he said, and lest they pitch the bar too low. He added: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Now there has been lots of talk about love this week, and quite rightly given the fact that we have just been celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. But we rob ourselves if we equate romantic love with love itself. It may involve love of course, although there are those who would argue that falling in love should not be called love at all because it is effortless, it is not a conscious choice in that it is ‘not genuinely interested in fostering the growth of the other person’ (Chapman Love Languages).

All our definitions of love, whatever we think of Chapman’s arguments need to measured against the kind of love God has for us. It needs to be patient and kind, forgiving and determined and willing to go to any length to seek the good of the other person. In other words it is a conscious act of the will and completely unconditional, so much so that it can even prompt us to pray for our enemies and those who have treated us badly. True love is not the same as liking someone, and it does not mean we have to agree with them and cannot criticise them. But it always does so in the hope that ‘the best is yet to be.’

I’m passing this on to you because this is what the church has been told to hand on from one generation to another. But sadly, and often to our shame because we failed to lived up to His expectations. Thankfully, He perseveres with failures - because He loves us!

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]