Point Of No Return

There are large signs buoyed on the Niagara River upstream of the great Niagara Falls that read “POINT OF NO RETURN”. The signs are there to warn all boats in the area that no matter how strong their vessel is, no matter how skilled of a captain is in charge, and no matter how powerful an engine and rudder it has... the river is in control from this point on. There comes a point that even the best attempts of the vessel to make it to the river’s shore or to get out of the main current is in vain because the river is simply too powerful to conquer 750,000 gallons of water per second rushing over the 170 foot drop of the falls ahead. It is recorded that many good people with good intentions have been swept over the falls simply because they didn’t think far enough ahead. Sin has some of the same characteristics as the falls. A lot of good people with good intentions have been swept into the abyss of spiritual death simply because they didn’t think far enough ahead. James 1:14-15 reads: “...but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” It’s interesting to note that our temptations aren’t sin, and our desires aren’t sin either as long as we don’t dwell on them. James clearly writes that we do not sin until our desire has conceived. Sin comes when we act on our desire and then our sin brings forth spiritual death. There is a fine line between desire and sin that we must be aware of. That line is the “POINT OF NO RETURN”.


The USS Thresher was a nuclear submarine that was designed to go to great depths due to its superior strength. The steel bulkheads were built to withstand great pressure from tons of sea water. But, on April 9, 1963, it went too deep during routine deep-diving tests, and was subsequently crushed into little pieces like a plastic model, whose wreckage was spread over an area of many miles. The pressure was just too great for the ship to handle. Yet, astonishingly, there are fish that live even deeper in the sea than the mighty submarine was able to go. How do they survive? From a scientific standpoint, they have ‘pressure’ on the inside equal to the water pressure on the outside. How will a Christian survive the outside pressures of life with all of its trials and temptations? By having equal ‘pressure,’ or equal force, on the inside. God is the only one who can provide that as we allow His Spirit and His will to transform our lives, from the inside out! 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” In this passage, we see God exerting His influence in a way that cancels out worldly pressure.


[Psalm 8:4] “...what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” When we take an honest look at ourselves, it is not difficult to identify with the Psalmist’s question. Weakness is a discouraging reality of our human nature. We are all aware of our own shortcomings, but what is particularly frustrating, is that the stronger we become in faith, the more aware we become as well. Therefore we find ourselves closer to Christ than ever before, but feeling farther away (Romans 7:14-25). There is a brighter understanding that comes with maturity. It causes us to realize how wonderful God’s salvation is! As we grow in our appreciation of the depths of His awesome love, we begin to understand, in a way like never before, what it means to sing, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” Praise be to God that He loves sinners like you and me and sent his Son to rescue mankind from hell (John 3:16-17).