Matt 7:13-14 (New International Version)
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate
and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it."
It would be very hard for anyone to lose his way home in
today's society. GPS, maps, tourist information booths… These are all geared to
help us find our way around. Even if someone woke up with complete amnesia, his
identity could be traced through his fingerprints and he could still find his
way home. In spite of this, some people still manage to get lost, some even
ending up in Timbuktu, wherever that is.
Amazingly, although nature does not have any of these
navigational aids, none of nature's creatures ever get lost.
Take for example the Chinook salmon. It lives the first
two years of its life in the fresh water of the Yukon River. It then migrates
to the Bering Sea where it lives for the next four or five years. It is now
approaching the end of its life, but it has one last trek to make. It must
return to its place of birth, and to do so, it sometimes has to travel more
than 2,000 miles up the Yukon River. And all of this without the help of GPS or
the AAA!
But this is no ordinary trip back into nostalgia. The
salmon has a specific purpose for returning home. It is returning to spawn, and
then to die.
And to make things more interesting, the Chinook Salmon
won't eat during the three months it takes to make the arduous trip from the
ocean to Whitehorse. Instead, it relies on stores of fat alone for its energy.
(Hopefully it is fat enough!)
A similar story can be told for the salmon found in
Alaska, in British Columbia, or anywhere in the world, for that matter. The
salmon will always return to its birthplace to spawn.
Talk about faithfulness!
Sometimes human structures (dams, for example) interfere
with the salmon's migratory trek. To remedy this, fish ladders, such as the
Whitehorse Rapids Fish way, are built, thus permitting the fish to reach its
destination. It is interesting to note that barely 3% of the salmon spawned
ever makes it back home. The others succumb to predators or disease.
The salmon's faithfulness in returning to its birthplace
is a wonderful reminder to us. In our trek through life, we are also going to
our Heavenly home. It is easy to get off track, however, for there are many
dangers (trials, temptations, addictions, etc.) that can prove fatal to our
eternal souls. We need to continuously check and make sure we are on the right
path, that we haven't somehow managed to swim down the wrong river!
How do we do this? By checking regularly with our
"original source" manual and its author: The Word of God and His Holy
Spirit. Only the Word of God and His Holy Spirit can point us in the right
direction all of the time. Only these guides can prevent us from becoming easy
prey.
Do you have a fishing rod? Good. Instead of using it to
catch migrating Salmon, why not use it to become a fisher of men? Many are lost
and in dire need of direction.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will
make you fishers of men." (Matt 4:19 NIV)
Dear Lord we pray today that we would faithfully follow
You in all that we do. Help us use the Word that You gave us as our guide. Help
us to study it and use what we learn to be fishers of men. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
