This post first appeared in July of 2013 as a devotional in Barclay Press.
One of my favorite hikes is to a unique waterfall found in Southern Utah. Most waterfalls are found as a stream or river approaches a cliff, but Cascade Falls emerges from a cave. From an underground stream Cascade Falls bursts out of the side of a mountain to a valley floor where it becomes an amazing river: The Virgin River.
When driving on Highway 15 between Nevada and Arizona one is literally in the gorge carved by the Virgin River. Zion Canyon was formed through years of erosion through the carving force of the Virgin River. Another amazing hike in Zion Canyon is called “the Narrows” where you walk in the Virgin River as the walls of the canyon rise beside you hundreds of feet high and in sections less than 100 feet across.
It is amazing that a relatively small waterfall can be the source of a powerful river strong enough to carve and create canyons and gorges out of solid rock.
The Gospels are small books with the capacity to be very powerful. Like a river there is a destructive and dangerous nature of the Gospels, but there is a creative and beautiful aspect to the Gospels. The Virgin River, Zion Canyon, and Cascade Falls are beautiful to anyone willing to take the time to explore them.
Challenge: When was the last time you explored the Gospels, with the expectation that you would discover something beautiful and possibly new?
Bible Reading: Romans 15:18-21
-Pastor Rick Ellis
Pastor at Friends Community Church