The day I ended up with a wet boot (See Following God’s Instructions, Part 1) was the day my wife and I had one goal: To find and photograph as many water falls as we could. We didn’t actually break our record that day, for our record of nine waterfalls that we had set just days earlier would have been hard to break. However, I believe that before it was all said and done, we had logged another six different water falls! Some of these required long and arduous hikes, while others could simply be spotted from the car. The Crabtree Fall were somewhere in the middle. It required a short hike, but the trail was wide and smooth and easy to navigate.

We couldn’t yet see the falls when we passed the sign, but we could certainly hear their roar; and in my excitement to photograph the cataract, I might have missed it. My wife was quick to point it out, however:

“The rocks are covered with a plant growth that makes them extremely slippery. Twenty-three people have died while climbing on these rocks. View the falls from designated areas only.”

They say there is a first for everything. I will say that I’ve been to see waterfalls before that posted warning signs to stay in designated areas, but this was certainly the first time I’d seen such a sign that actually outlined not only the warning and the potential consequences, but also specified how many people had lost their lives in failing to heed that warning! Those must be really slippery rocks!

Needless to say, my wife and I stayed in the designated areas, which were very well positioned for taking pictures of this particular cataract. I also noted the green sheen on the rocks around the falls…

Last Friday, in Following God’s Instructions, Part 1, we saw how our failure to follow God’s instructions may lead to calamity; but even more importantly, we saw how what may seem “minor” consequences for not following God’s instructions in our own eyes can actually … draw people astray (See Matthew 18:6)! Today’s story, however, brought to mind a totally different Bible text: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”” (Proverbs 14:12 NIV)

Fortunately for my wife and I, the instructions at Crabtree Falls were clearly provided. And fortunately for all of us, God has also clearly provided His instructions — The Bible. Therein lies all of the instructions we need, and they can all be summarized into two simple rules: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’…And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV). When my wife and I honoured the instructions at Crabtree Falls, we felt secure that we were on safe ground. In like manner, when we honour these instructions given to us in God’s word, we can feel secure that we are not following a “way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death”, but rather, we are following the right way, the way of eternal life.

Following instructions can mean the difference between life and death. Not only at Crabtree falls, but in every aspect of our walk through life! Be sure to follow God’s Word!

But wait. What if the Bible simply doesn’t talk about the particular set of circumstances we find ourselves in? What then? Join us next Friday for Following Instructions, Part 3!

Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries