by Steve Higginbotham
Growing up on the banks of the Ohio River was filled with adventure, but also wrought with danger. I did a lot of fishing with my friends, skipped a lot of rocks, and did a lot of day dreaming. However, one thing I did not do a lot was to get into the river itself. I had strict orders about that.
However, one day a couple of friends and I decided to canoe out to a little island in the river and go swimming. Here’s what we did: we all got our fishing poles, and I told my mom we were going fishing. To salve my conscience, I fully intended to drop my line in the water for a moment and pull it back out when we got to the river, and then we would go canoeing.
However, by the time we reached the river, I forgot all about putting my line in the river. We just jumped in the canoe and off we went. When we arrived at Babb’s Island, we found a tree that had a rope tied to a limb and we could swing out over the water and fall in. We were having a great time–oblivious to the dangerous current of the river. After having our fill of swimming, we climbed back into the canoe and headed for shore. And that’s when it happened…I heard a scream, looked up, and saw my mother standing on the river bank waiting for me to return.
Now if you thought because of the title of this article, that I was going to tell you about a tragic death that occurred because of our misadventure, you were right. But the death to which I was referring took place, not on the river, but on a cross nearly 2000 years earlier. You see, on that day, I sinned because I disobeyed my parents. And Jesus’ death on the cross was a direct result of that sin, and many others I have committed. No, my two friends are still alive and well today. It was Jesus who lost His life due to that misadventure.
Friends, your sins…my sins killed Jesus! Maybe if we would remember what happened as a result of our sins, we would have greater insight into how bad sin is, and thus abhor it like God does and we should (Romans 12:9).