Or Rivers and Christians

Daniel 1:1-8

 

An interesting thing to watch from an airplane is the winding path if a river. No two waterways are alike, but they all have one thing in common: They are crooked. Rivers follow the path of least resistance. They are crooked because they take the easy.

 

Christians become crooked for the same reason. When we fail to overcome temptation, resist the devil, or tackle the enemy head-on, we deviate from the straight path God would have us to follow. Unlike Daniel, who “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself,” we bend to worldly pressures.

 

This shouldn’t happen. Nothing is so strong that we need allow to side track us. Writing to Christians , John said, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Rather than being overcome, we can be overcomers. Nothing should divert us from our prescribed course. We don’t have to give in to any temptation or foe.

 

Unlike rivers, which have no choice in the matter, we can remain straight by refusing to follow the path of the least resistance.

 

 –Richard De Haan-