Discipleship class
Having recommitted my life to Christ a few years ago, I went on a small pilgrimage for a home church. When I had settled down with the family-oriented, Bible-based Covenant Family of churches, it was understood and suggested that new members take a discipleship foundations class to understand the core beliefs of the church. The programme was offered in two parts, each spanning six months per module (1 and 2).
During a scheduled foundations 2 class, in our main text “Growing up in Christ”, we spoke about living a life that is pleasing to God. One of the things that we discussed was how as Christians we can’t just go with the flow. We are called to be set apart from the world. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house (Matthew chapter 5, verses 14-15).
The next verse even went on to state “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew chapter 5, verse 16). So on top of being set apart, we are expected to standout and shine for the kingdom as a beacon to attract the broken. This separation mentioned, of course, is certainly not easy as the Christian walk is deeply challenging. But we already know this, as it’s easier to just live carefree than to truly follow Christ. We are not called to get lost in our circumstances, though we sometimes do, but to push harder to make it up that river against all odds.
Salmon Run
This very ‘going against the flow’ reminds me of the Salmon Run. The process of the Salmon Run is so similar to our Christian journey. The young salmon leaves the riverbed migrating to the sea to live their lives then finally returns to the river of their birth to spawn. This can be correlated to when we go out into the world and then when we learn the truth of God, we return to his love to live. What I really found interesting is the journey back up the river. It’s a hard and dangerous journey taking into consideration that they are going against the ebb and flow of a ravenous river as well as contending with bears, the bald eagles and spear fishermen. Even after all of that upstream work, if the salmon happens to make it to the spawning ground, they could still die before actually spawning.
You can clearly see why Christians are likened to the Salmon here. Our Christian journey is about going against the flow of the world (the river), and the bears, eagles and fishermen represent the many obstacles, like trials and warfare, that threaten our daily walk or even very existence. Making it safely to the spawning grounds is representative of making it through trial or to the end of our lives having truly endured to the end. For the salmon, they pretty much die after spawning, but hey, by then they have served their purpose.
Handling the ‘ravenous river, bears, eagles and fishermen’
We often talk about the fact that the Christian walk is hard, but we rarely hear other talk about how to get it through the day to day reality of trials and warfare. If left to our human devices we become tired, weak and depressed under the reality. While we don’t all experience the same warfare and trials, the guidelines include the same recommendations. We cannot get through warfare and trials without prayer and the Word. It might sound cliché, but that truly is our best defense.
The mistake we often make is to assume that our problems are physical in nature because of how they manifest. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12) We should never forget this because knowing the enemy helps us to know how to act. In our prayers we need to be honest and real (authentic and heartfelt) with God. He is our Father, and this is how we communicate with him. Don’t just throw words at him, but also listen keenly for his prompting. After all, it’s a dialogue.
"Prayer is how we see heaven invade earth. It's what opens up the floodgates for God to come down and be involved in our everyday circumstances." (Priscilla Shirer, Christian Evangelist)
Pray for specific things like spiritual vision and discernment. Know that God is your comforter and as such don’t be afraid to also ask for the grace to make it through this tough time.
Invoke the whole armour of God, through his Word and seek support from your Christian community to pray with and for you. Like the salmon run, take it like schools of salmon up the river. Consistency is paramount in this fight. Let’s continue to help each other make it upstream, because we will forever be going against the flow.
Kimberley Morgan Salmon is a praise and worship leader who remains passionate about touching hearts through singing and writing as she thrives to become a published author of Christian women’s fiction. She loves the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is grateful for God’s saving grace which continues to transform her life. As a Press Service International Columnist, she is elated that she can now share her journey with God with the world.
Kimberley Salmon from Jamaica West Indies is a praise and worship leader who remains passionate about touching hearts through singing and writing as she thrives to become a published author of Christian women’s fiction. She loves the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is grateful for God’s saving grace which continues to transform her life. As a senior Press Service International Columnist, she is elated that she can now share her journey with God with the world.