Oct 29, 2018
We do not belong to
those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are
saved. Heb 10:39
Don't join those
retreating by sin for themselves, join those overcoming by faith in Jesus.
Salmon are an interesting breed off fish. While most fish travel with the current, they
are one of the few species that swims against the current. During various seasons of their life, they
will move upstream to spawn, not only going against the flow of the current,
but against the flow of most other species of fish. Scientists are discovering that this not only
helps them maintain the population, but supports the other fish and wildlife
along the stream.
Sin has many facets, but one common aspect of all sin is the
flow. It always moves downstream. There is always a pressure to settle, to
compromise, to go with the flow, and to be like everyone else. That doesn’t mean being unique is less sinful,
but you won’t find freedom from sin by following the world’s current. Instead, to overcome sin we must choose to
fight up the current. It requires
constant strength and endurance, effort and commitment.
For most today, we are in ‘shrink back’ mode. While the world adapts to support the sin
behaviors of people, we’re constantly challenged to be accepting and inviting. Somehow, we have believed that flowing WITH
the current will help us reach people.
But what we see is a church that is losing it’s moral integrity and
witness, while we become filled with the same sin we are trying to change. It’s not that Christians are better, it’s
that we’re called to keep swimming upstream!
I write this out of conviction, knowing the personal wrestling
match that comes with trying to relate to people while reject the attractions
of sin. Looking in the mirror, we all
can see a person who has flowed with the current too often, and is regularly
failing. It’s pretty easy to justify the
sins we flow with, while condemning those that others traverse. Swimming upstream takes a LOT of energy, and
often we feel we deserve a little break.
But just like salmon, our best reproductive activity is to
fight the current, to jump the flow, and to make it upstream. Jesus demonstrated that to all of us. He was the ultimate overcomer, and spawned a
ministry that has saved billions of people and is still at work today. He is calling us to follow Him upstream, and
spawn great number of ‘salmon’ with Him!
Most likely, your life is surrounded by many options to flow
with the current. Don’t be attracted to
those. Choose the lifestyle that goes
against the current of sin. Fight and grow
stronger, moving up the stream to leave a legacy of strong salmon. Not only will it help you find purpose and
life, but it will actually encourage many others to fight the current as
well.
Don’t retreat any longer … overcome by faith in the best
current buster of all. His Name is
Jesus!
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