Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his
own reward according to his own labour.–1 Cor. 3:8
Christians often spend a lot of time bickering among themselves without ever getting
to the real root of the problem. This story by Dr. Bob Griffin helps us put things in the
proper perspective:
Walking through the forest, a seasoned hiker came upon a broad, slowly
moving river. He stopped to gaze over the waters, appreciating the beauty,
when suddenly he heard a faint cry coming from upstream. Looking in the
direction of the noise, he saw an obviously drowning man floundering in the
river and drifting slowly toward him.
The hiker was stunned momentarily, but he sprang into action when he saw the
man disappear beneath the waters. Throwing off all of his cumbersome gear,
he dove into the river and swam like a madman toward the spot where the man
went under.
Upon reaching the spot he plunged below the surface and frantically hauled
up the helpless man. He then laboriously towed the victim to shore. Heaving
the lifeless body up on the riverbank, the hiker attempted to revive the
man, who eventually spit up water and began to breathe.
Relieved, the hiker paused to catch his breath. But no sooner had he done so
than he heard another voice out on the water. Another drowning person! Once
again he swam out and pulled the person to shore, a little more slowly this
time. As the hiker-turned lifeguard revived the second victim, he heard yet
another cry for help.
All day long the hiker worked, rescuing one person after another as they
came drifting down the river. There seemed to be no end of drowning victims,
and the hiker didn’t think he could keep it up.
Just when he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he spotted another man
walking rapidly beside the river, headed upstream. “Hey mister!” he cried
out. “Please help me! These poor people are drowning!” Amazingly, the man
kept walking upstream. The astonished hiker called out again. Without even
acknowledging the cry, the man kept going. Indignant and angry, the hiker
leapt to his feet, ran toward the seemingly uncompassionate man, stood
directly in his path, and in a loud voice demanded, “Sir! How can you
possibly walk past all these drowning people? Have you no conscience? Must I
force you to help me save these people?”
The stranger stopped, looked at him for the first time and said with a calm,
focused voice, “Sir, please get out of my way. I am headed upstream to stop
the guy who is pushing all these people in.”
Each of us has a role to play in rescuing those who are drowning in sin. The
important part is that we DO the work God called us to do. Of course, GOD
does the work in hearts, but we all have gifts to help us minister in His
name. Some of us pull people from the water and resuscitate them with
counseling, food and shelter, a rehabilitation program, a support group, or
financial aid. Others of us find our place of ministry upstream, opposing
the one pushing people into the river. We do this by introducing those
people to Jesus Christ, knowing Christ sets a person free from sin and
releases them from Satan’s power over them. By itself, pulling people from
the water isn’t enough. We need God to free people from sin, dealing with
the problem of sin at its source.–THINK ABOUT IT!
