We all live downstream. That's a phrase used by
environmentalists to make us aware of the impact our actions today
have on our lives tomorrow. What we throw away today has to land
somewhere. Somewhere ... somehow ... some day we are going to
have to deal with it, because We All Live Downstream. Environmentalists
sometimes get carried away with their ideas, but they do make
a very important statement here. What I did yesterday is affecting
the quality of my life today: the career I prepared for ... the
food I put into my body ... the habits I formed ... the ideas
I developed ... the attitudes I molded ... the person I married
... the children we raised ... all have an impact on my life today,
because today I am Living Downstream.
A Lesson Learned. I learned that lesson
by experience many years ago. A little creek called Tanner's Fork
ran just behind the house where I grew up. Sometimes Tanner flooded,
and we liked to throw rocks at cans that were floating down the
stream. "Sink the Bismarck!" Dad would never let us
throw rocks at bottles, but Dad wasn't always around. One spring
I was washing May apple root in the creek, dreaming about all
the money I was going to make when I took it to the little country
store just up the road. I stepped on a piece of glass and cut
a pretty good gash between a couple of toes. One still has no
feeling on the underside. I learned what it meant to Live Downstream.
Sowing Wild Oats. Sometimes we use that
phrase to excuse the shenanigans of young people. You cannot sow
wild oats and reap wholesome wheat. You cannot plant zucchini
and reap watermelon. Paul said it best: "Be not deceived;
God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap." (Galatians 6:7). One day we must all stand downstream
and deal with the trash we have thrown into our River of Life.
The Prodigal Son. One of the best loved
parables of Jesus illustrates the concept of Living Downstream.
After leaving the father's house, he reached the point in his
life when he had to deal with the trash he had been throwing in
the stream. Isn't that the story of each of us? We are born in
a state of innocence, in the Father's House. Sin separates us
from God, and we abide for a time in the far country. Like the
son in the parable, we must Recognize our wretched condition,
Resolve to Repent and Return simply as a servant. Only then can
we be Reconciled, Re-clothed with Righteousness, and Restored
to the Father's house.
The Good News. Trash that is carried to
a proper landfill and covered will never have to be dealt with
again. "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and
whose sins are covered." (Romans 4:7). Sins covered by the
blood of Christ will never have to be dealt with again. How do
you and I contact that blood that covers our sin? The night Jesus
instituted the Lord's Supper, He said, "For this is my blood
of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins." (Matthew 26:28). On the Day of Pentecost, Peter
told the assembly, "Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."
(Acts 2:38). Contradiction? Jesus said one thing, Peter another.
Could it be that Jesus spoke of the power and Peter spoke of how
to contact the power? Repentance and Baptism does the exact same
thing for us that the Blood does. There must be a relationship.
John tells us further that if we walk in the light, the blood
of Jesus keeps on cleansing us of sin. (1 John 1:7).
Trash properly disposed of will never have to
be dealt with again. -HC 84 Box 80, Shock, WV 26638-9502. 304-462-0384.
gnpmillshock~rtol.net