Swim with the Salmon

August 7, 2002

I recently visited the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle. They have a fish ladder next to the dam, and you can watch through glass windows as the salmon swim up the ladder. I was fascinated with the way they were swimming against the flow of the current, and with the sheer force of the water flowing down the ladder. It occurred to me that God calls us to go the opposite way the world is going, just as the salmon go the opposite way the water is going. The force of both water and temptation can be very powerful. Fortunately, with God's help, we can resist the pull of temptation, and salmon can resist the pull of the current.

The current rages on
Downstream with awesome force
While the salmon swim along
Upstream to spawning grounds
Against the raging current

We've got to swim with the salmon
Go against the flow
Jump up all the ladders
Go up the waterfalls

The current rages on
Down the rivers of this world
The temptation is so strong
To conform to the ways of the world
And just to go with the flow

We're called to swim with the salmon
Against the raging current
Following the Lord
Not conforming to the world