The Great Divider

The crucified him, and two others with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle. (John 19:18) Many summers ago we went to the Rockies to visit a friend. While there we climbed to the top of Trail Ridge Road where we were able to stand on the Continental Divide. I learned that the Continental Divide in the Americas is the line that divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Rain or snow that drains on the east side of the Continental Divide flows toward the Atlantic Ocean while precipitation on the west side drains and flows toward the Pacific Ocean. (However, some rivers empty into the desert and don't end up in the oceans.) The continental divide runs from northwestern Canada along the crest of the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico. Then, it follows the crest of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental. In South America, the Continental Divide lies along the Andes. Every continent except for Antarctica has a continental divide. Antarctica is an endorheic basin. An endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. Where a continental divide meets an endorheic basin, such as the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming, the continental divide splits and encircles the basin. (That is your geography lesson for the day.) All of this is a part of God’s phenomenal creation. God created another Divide that is more phenomenal and much more wonderful than the Continental Divide – It is the Great Divider – Jesus! He is the final “divider” of us all. Just as He hung on the cross between the two thieves, He was dividing them more than physically. His division put them “worlds apart,” literally. Each of the thieves made a decision which was the dividing point – one made a decision to repent of his sin and be forgiven, which brought him to eternal salvation. The other refused repentance and forgiveness and consequently determined his eternal destination – he was “lost” to eternal punishment and separation from God. Jesus is also the Great Divider in our lives. Our choice of what we do with Him (accept or reject Him) is the dividing line in our lives. Our decision determines where we spend eternity – with Jesus in heaven or with Satan in hell, the place prepared for him. Unlike the precipitation that falls and must, by the affects of gravity, flow east or west, and it is inconsequential where its final destination is, our decision to follow Christ is vital to where our final destination is. The Great Divider is calling us to decide for Him; He has sought for your acceptance since you were born. His love for you is so complete that He was willing to hang on that middle cross, between those two thieves, and die a criminal’s death. He took our place; He took our sins; He took our guilt. He is the Great Divider Who requires a decision from us, either to accept Him as the only way to eternal salvation, or reject Him to be eternally lost. This decision must be made before we stand before Him whenever our lives ends. Unlike the rain and snow which can’t determine which side of the Divide it may fall and where its destination may be, we have a choice as long as we are alive. Our days on this earth are already determined – we don’t know when our lives may be snuffed out. Do you know on which side of the Great Divider you will be? Are we too blinded to see the Truth and reality of Who He is? – THE GREAT DIVIDER! Choose, while there is still time!