Some Lessons From The Salmon
Hebrews 12:1b-2a
- Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of
our faith. (NIV)
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one
and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life. (NIV)
Last Thanksgiving weekend, my daughter and I joined the many
others who were intently watching the salmon making their
way up the Sauble River to their spawning ground. As we
watched them swimming upstream against the current, I
thought of some lessons that we, as Christians, could learn
from them.
Each fall, adult sockeye salmon return to their natal
stream, river, or lake, to spawn and bury their eggs. Salmon
have the determination and perseverance to keep on going
until they reach their final destination -- their spawning
ground. Their journey is upstream against the strong
current, which pushes them back many times. Sometimes they
get caught. We saw a fisherman catch and reel in a salmon,
but then he released it. My daughter pointed out a sign for
the "catch and release" law, allowing fishermen to catch the
salmon, but then requiring them to release them again.
Our Christian walk is like that of the salmon. We are
battling against the evils of this dark world -- often going
against the crowd. Many times, we, too, come against strong
opposition, but we who believe in Jesus, when we die, will
inherit eternal life. We, too, at times, get caught by
Satan, and, although Satan doesn't release us, Jesus does.
He is always with us, showing us how to be free from our
sin. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could
win the victory over sin and death.
God has a plan for our lives, just as He has a plan for the
salmon. Let us persevere, then, as the salmon do, year after
year, and run the race marked out for us. Let us keep our
eyes on Jesus until, at the end of our journey, we have
reached our final destination -- heaven.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have prepared
a place for us, and that You have a plan for each of our
lives! Keep us from growing weary and discouraged. Help us,
through our times of trouble and temptation, to keep our
eyes fixed on Jesus, as we run the race that You have marked
out for us, knowing that even death cannot separate us from
You, and that, at the end of our journey, we will inherit
eternal life, and live with You forever. Amen.
Dee Renaud
ed.dee.renaud@sympatico.ca
Sauble Beach, Ontario, Canada
Thanks to http://daily.presbycan.ca