"Swimming upstream" by Gregory Crofford for Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Q - What do salmon, coho, and rainbow trout have in common?A - They all swim upstream for reproductive purposes.
Biologists believe that odors of the home waters where they were spawned remain wired in their brain. Sciencing.com explains: "At maturity, they are instinctively drawn back to the place of their birth."
These three species of fish hold a lesson for Christianity:
Reproduction requires swimming against the current.
Going with the flow is easier, but spawning the next generation of believers mandates a counter-cultural approach. We are upstream Christians in a downstream world.
The words of Paul to Titus have a timeless quality though they were written 1,900 years ago:
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds (Titus 2:11-14, NLT).
They, too, were to be upstream Christians in a downstream world. In a society that was "evil," Paul called Titus and the flock he shepherded to lead lives characterized by "wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God." Their attention was to remain hopefully focused on the future, the day of Christ's return. Meanwhile, there was no place for idleness. In the same way the twelve-year-old Jesus insisted that he must be busy with his Father's work (Luke 2:49), so Paul reminds Titus to commit himself to God's good work in the world (v. 14).What is striking about Paul's advice to his young protégé is that living in an evil world never justified jumping out of the stream. Upstream fish remain in the stream but are strong enough to swim against it. To succeed in this counter-cultural feat, believers must remember three things:
1) Remember that our help comes from the LORD. Isaiah 26:3 reminds us: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you" (Isaiah 6:3, NIV). The would-be crushing pressure from our surroundings must be matched by an internal spiritual force that pushes back. Andrés Filipe Arias knows this well. Caught up as a pawn in a geo-political chess game, this former Columbian Minister of Agriculture now sits in a Miami detention center. His petition for assylum in the U.S. hopelessly delayed, he faces 17 years of wrongful imprisonment if extradited to his home country. Such a force would have crushed many, but the husband of one and father of two has deep faith in God. When asked how he is coping, he replied: “I feel strong and at peace. Of course, every second I long for my home, my wife, and my kids. But I’ve learned to accept God’s will no matter how mysterious are His ways.” As to his sanity, he testifies that God sees to it.
2) Remember to swim together. The salmon, coho, and rainbow trout swim upstream together. In the same way, resisting the downstream pull of our culture is best done when we stick together. This is the strongest argument for the church; there is strength in numbers. It's no accident that it wasn't a single Hebrew but three Hebrews brothers who together refused to bow before the idol of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:16-18). Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV) teaches that a "cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Jesus calls us to be like the light set on a lampstand that draws people in from the darkness to the warmth of the light (Luke 11:33). We shine best when we shine collectively.
3) Remember to keep on loving. Being counter-cultural is no excuse for aloof disengagement. Jesus told of a time when evil would increase. What would be the result? "The love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12b, NIV). Our love for God and for others is the ultimate measure of holiness (Mark 12:28-31). If our churches are shrinking, could it be that would-be seekers coming in from the cold - in the words of evangelist Charles "Chic" Shaver - never found enough love to keep them warm? What kind of "love" inscribes "all welcome" on the church sign but freezes people out once they step inside?
Like Paul and Titus, we live in a world that too often is evil, yet this is no excuse for downstream living. With the strength that comes from the Lord and banding together, followers of Christ model a different path, a better way. May our love never grow cold! Instead, let us open our arms wide to all, inviting people to join us and our Leader in this epic swim upstream.
Image credit: By Robert W. Hines, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
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