In the Market Place
Streams of Salvation
Floyd Courtney
08/30/2010
The people of Israel, with all their animals, were threatened with imminent death in the desert due to lack of water. God’s solution: strike the rock. The rock was a symbol of Christ. Literally “streams of salvation” (Desire of Ages 454) in the form of water flowed from the rock, physically saving the people and their animals.
The world around us is threatened with imminent eternal death. Many don’t know that Christ is offering the same water of life that He offered the Samaritan woman about 2000 years ago. It’s the same water of life represented by the literal water that flowed from the smitten rock in the desert, which saved Israel and their animals.
Spiritually, salvation flows from the smitten Rock to all. That stream of salvation, represented by the water in the desert, is the Word of God (see Desire of Ages 454). There is creative power in His Word (see Psalm 33:6, 9) when driven home by the power of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 6:17). It produces a new heart in the person, preparing them for Christ’s return.
This is where the work of the church and ASI members comes in. ASI members are in a unique position to share this “water of life” with people that pastors and other church members might not meet. “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38, KJV).
My wife and I have the opportunity to give Bible studies to both our employees and to the patients who come to our rehab centers. We often have luncheons with physicians and other business owners, where we ask God’s blessing upon the food and upon the person(s) with whom we are meeting, as well as upon their businesses. At our staff meetings and Thanksgiving and Christmas employee gatherings, I pray with and for our staff members and share inspirational thoughts. In response to these prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for general blessings, employees ask us to pray for them when special problems arise in their personal lives.
“Streams of salvation” can be shared in ways other than prayer, as well. Books and pamphlets can be shared, and religious pictures, texts and quotes can tastefully be placed on office walls. I’ve often watched people standing in our reception area while waiting for a family member to receive treatment, and reading the quote by Ellen White that is posted on our wall in an attractive frame:
“The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall” (Education 57).
Only in heaven will we know the impact that words of truth have had on others—simply because we shared them. Christ’s words truly are “streams of salvation.”
