Olden Days

This afternoon, since I had no Church activities on which to follow up, my bride and I visited the site of Jim Bridger’s (famous “mountain man” and guide) trading post which later on became a military outpost called Fort Bridger.

We looked through some of his belongings and walked in his footsteps. And, as I walked along I was thinking about the steps of those who have gone before. Much has changed since the 19th Century. In one exhibit I spent a while looking at a freight wagon that brought goods and necessities to the Fort in and around 1900. It was huge. The wheels were as tall as I am, and reaching into the wagon was not possible because of it’s height. It is hard to imagine what came in that wagon, and how vital it was to those folks who waited for its cargo in what was then a very unpopulated, dangerous environment.

We live today in a highly populated, yet still very dangerous environment. Failing to see and understand the steps of those who have gone before is foolish and wasteful. I looked at a late 1800’s model hay baler. The comparison between that and the one I use 116 years later is mind boggling.

I am reminded I walk in the steps of my Father. . .and his. . .and his, etc. I walk in the steps of every Believer who has proclaimed the Truth of God’s Word, all the way back to the steps of Jesus of Nazareth, as He climbed the hill of Calvary to purchase salvation from the curse of sin and death for all mankind.

Someone had to “open up” the “West” to American settlers. Jim Bridger was one of many who did that in the 1800’s. Some one has to share the in Truth 2016 because there are those who follow in our steps, and without our proclamation, the Gospel might be lost to them. For Jim Bridger, or for you, the tasks are not easy, but without you. . .well, just imagine who will follow in your footsteps.