In The River
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In The River
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Benoni Bulletin--May 20,2007--"Aw, go jump in the river!""Go Jump in the River!"Did you see the article in the local newspaper about the man who jumped in the river? Has anyone ever irritated you to the degree that you had an irresistible urge to tell him, "Aw, go jump in the lake!"? In Kerrville last week, a reckless driver in a Ford Taurus side-swiped two parked vehicles outside a fancy restaurant on the river. Then he bolted from his car, dashed through the eatery and volted into the Guadalupe River. The police who were summoned, had to be "fishers of men" to remove the angry, recalcitrant culprit from his watery hideout. His injudicious, ill-fated mode of escape was thwarted by water. Probably most of the restaurant patrons would have told him where to go jump had he not pre-empted them! Can you name an illustrious soldier in the Bible who was told to go "jump in the river" by a preacher? Well, maybe that is a little too contemporary for you. He was an affable Syrian general who had a loathsome disease, 2 Kings 5. He was persuaded by a nameless underling to travel to Israel to call on a miracle-working prophet. Naaman makes a grandiose entry with his entourage. To his disgust, the prophet Elisha doesn't even come out of his house. What a snub! Elisha does not fuss over the "great one" with pretentious bows and flattering words. Instead he sends out a servant with the message, "Go, dip in the River Jordan seven times!" The greeting Naaman was accorded was already a major diplomatic faux pas, but to be told to go and "jump" in the river, not once, but seven times was just too much. But the humble general was amenable to good advice. Even though the rivers of Damascus were purer and cleaner than the selected venue and much more suitable for jumping into, he reluctantly complied. The hidden blessing was that it was not an abortive mode of escape as above but a permanent one--an escape from leprosy and a re-entry into a useful life once again. That's what obedience does. Even when we don't understand all the reasons or ramifications, it is always best to do what God says. When we were unsaved sinners, God provided a way of escape from the fires of hell through "water," 1 Peter 3:20-21. (That is how the fire department quenches life-threatening "fire" today, too, isn't that so?). We have to be dipped in water. We have to participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, Romans 6:3-4. We escape from the stranglehold of our own loathsome sin, to re-entry into a life of usefulness before God. Jesus provided that for us. Baptism is the place where the sinner meets the Savior. It is the place of redemption in the blood of the Lamb. When we are tempted to sin, God provides a way of escape that we might be able to endure and overcome it, 1 Corinthians 10:13. His invitation to escape to something infinitely better is only limited by our reluctance to obey His command. Physical fire consumes our goods and sometimes our lives, but it cannot rob us of our souls. Only sin does that. If you're not a Christian and someone says, "Go jump in the river!" ask them, "Are you offering me baptism?" Then just respond and get it done. It is the only effective mode of escape from sin. Love you all, Al--the Horne of Africa. |
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