River and Sea
By: Scott Tolhurst
The Fraser River is birthed in the Rocky Mountains by a spring near Mt. Robson. It wanders through rock and forest, pulled by gravity for 1,375 km until it empties in the Pacific. It invites various creeks and tributaries until it reaches a flow of 3,500 cubic meters a second. It gathers sediment like baggage - a full 20 million tonnes. In other words, this river is unstoppable - until it reaches the sea and then becomes something different. The river is welcomed into vast sparkling waters, far greater than could be imagined by the trickle it once was. So, it becomes a metaphor for your life and mine.
We all have very small beginnings - an egg, fetus and infant. We took our first steps unnoticed by the world. We began a journey whose length and course we could not predict. Along the way we invited others to join us - friends and family. We carry the debris of life like baggage. Some of it we need, others we would drop if we could. We are not totally free in our flow. We are tugged by time and hemmed in on both sides by the shores of chance and change. So, we feel steered, or better yet, guided. Our meandering can be peaceful with sunshine and meadow, but there are rapids we cannot avoid. We simply have to move through them. Every day is new exploration. We are comforted by the familiar but nervous about what is around the next bend. We cannot name the geographic co-ordinates of our end - but we do know there is a destination. But, there is an irony with our journey’s end.
Before the Fraser reaches the sea, there is a delta. It is a host of confusing watery aisles around islands and marshlands. It is hard to navigate. There is no straight defined path as there once was. After the long journey, the last few steps to the sea are challenging. Clarity and courage, faith and confidence may waver. But I assure you, the river will make it to the Sea. And when it does, it becomes free and vast. The Sea welcomes the river into what must look like infinity, an endless glitter of glory. The river has no restrictive shores, no boundary banks. It has been enlarged beyond imaginations. What we knew as a river has been joined to the Sea. What was, is past. What is, will be forever.
Most of all, we arrive where we belong. Rivers are meant to flow to the Sea. It is not happenstance but design. God has made it this way. I don’t suggest that the destination is inevitable for all. Some rivers dry up; others get clogged or diverted. But Jesus has charted a course and by faith we follow Him. He will usher us to a place that flows with life. God replaces the ocean. He is the Sea. Infinite. Glorious. Eternal. (Revelation 21:1; 22:1)
Whatever fears, frustrations or limitations you feel just now, know this. This is the River. We are headed to the Sea.