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River
of Disappointment
Sir
Alexander Mackenzie is a Canadian hero.
There are 11 different places named after
Alexander Mackenzie in
British Columbia
and the
Northwest Territories
in
Canada
, including the Mackenzie Delta, the Mackenzie
Mountains, the
Mackenzie Highway
, and the
Sir
Alexander
Mackenzie
Provincial
Park
.
Why
is Alexander Mackenzie so memorialized?
In
the late 1700’s, Mackenzie, a fur trader and
explorer, wanted to open up new trading routes for the
fur trade. His intention was to find a route from East
Canada to the
Pacific
Coast
. On his
second expedition from Fort Chipewyan in the Alberta
Province, with a party of voyageurs*, two native hunters/interpreters
and a dog, Mackenzie’s team reached the Pacific
Coast near Bella Coola, British Columbia, where he
inscribed on a rock, “Alexander Mackenzie from
Canada by land, 22 July 1793.” Alexander
Mackenzie was the first person to make the journey
from the east to the west of
Canada
over the
Rocky Mountains
.
Mackenzie’s
earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major
disappointment.
His explorers, seeking to find a water route to the
Pacific Ocean
, followed a mighty river with high hopes, paddling
furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it
didn’t empty into the Pacific, but into the
Arctic Ocean
. This
2,500-mile long river, later named the Mackenzie
River, was called by a different name by Mackenzie; he
called it the “
River
of
Disappointment
.” **
Question:
In the course of YOUR
life, what awaits YOU down
river?
King
Solomon navigated many “rivers” in search of a
life of meaning and fulfillment “under the sun” (cf.
the book of Ecclesiastes).
He tried power, wealth, worldly pleasure, and
relationships with a lot of women.
He found each of these “rivers” to be
“rivers of disappointment” -- "Vanity of
vanities, all is vanity" (Eccl 1:2).
Jesus
said, “Enter by the NARROW gate; for wide is the
gate and BROAD is the way that leads to DESTRUCTION,
and there are many who go in by it.
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the
way which leads to LIFE, and there are few who find
it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Jesus,
has “blazed the trail” to eternal
life in heaven (John 14:6).
It cost
Him His life to pay the price for our sins (1
Peter 2:24). The
way to life is faith
(Acts 16:30-31), repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confession
(Romans 10:9-10), baptism
(immersion) in His name for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts 2:38), and following Him completely (1 John
1:7).
Are
YOU
traveling down the river of disappointment?
There are many!
But there’s only one way to LIFE, and that is
Jesus.
Won’t you trust and obey Him today?
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Voyageur – a man employed by a fur company to
transport goods to and from remote stations especially
in the Canadian Northwest.
**
Sources: Our Daily Bread, July 1, 1990 and The Avoch
Heritage Association -- http://www.avoch.org/html/mackenzie.html
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