I Chronicles 1:1 Adam, Sheth, Enosh.
Now long ago my family and I traveled from the high desert in Arizona up into Utah, then across the Rockies through Colorado to Denver. It was a long and beautiful trip. When you get to the Continental Divide high in the mountains of Colorado there is a simple sign that marks the spot. There is no fanfare or anything that would draw attention to it, yet all the rain that falls there either goes to the Atlantic or the Pacific. Raindrops falling to the left go towards the Pacific, and those falling to the right go to the Atlantic. It is a great divide. It is a watershed. So, these mountains are the birthplace of the headwaters that drain the country.
In many ways, I Chronicles forms the headwaters of so much of the Bible that follows. Many of the Bible characters here are the ones from which almost everyone else in the Bible comes. For instance, you read about Abraham. You read about Adam, Seth, Enoch, and so on, from whom so many of the players in the Bible come. Most notably, God’s Messiah came through the seed of Abraham.
We learn from this listing of names that we likewise will be the “headwaters” of what is to come in the future. Whether you bear children, an idea, or just a habit, those things gain volume, momentum, and characteristics as they go, just like a river begins to gain momentum, intensity, and volume as it goes.
Now that is important because we need to be aware of what we contribute to the current. Just like a drop of rain that may seem insignificant, the things we contribute to this world may well gain speed, volume, and intensity. Everyone in human history who will be born from here on is downriver from you and me. That means what we contribute to this current is very important.
Sometimes the decisions we make in a day don’t seem huge. Rather, they are like a drop of rain in the Rocky Mountains. At some point the decisions you make, the habits you cherish, the children you raise, will gain momentum. They gain volume and power. Today, be aware of what you contribute to the current.