Articles
From Canals to Planes
“All aboard on the canal boat for Toledo!” “No thanks, I’ll take the plane.” For the last four years I’ve ridden my bicycle and walked the remaining portions of the Miami-Erie Canal in western Ohio. I’ve enjoyed seeing the ruins of the canal locks and buildings. It’s been especially cool to see portions of the old canal and its feeder lakes still used for various purposes such as flood con-trol, irrigation, tourism, camping, and kayaking.
If you’ll permit me a brief history on the Miami-Erie Canal, a great spiritual application awaits. Ohio became the 17th state in the Union in 1803. Political leaders recognized the need to transport goods and people across the state in order to de-velop and protect it. Therefore, they decided to construct canals. One of the major canals was the Miami-Erie Canal that went from Toledo at the shore of Lake Erie through the heart of Cincinnati and into the Ohio River. The construction of the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845. Many stops along the canal eventually became cities. It was hard work, and many died from vari-ous diseases. The goods and people traveled in a boat pulled by two mules walking along a towpath next to the canal. It took three days to get from Cincinnati to Toledo if the weather cooperated in the warmer months. In the winter, the canal would freeze making travel either difficult or im-possible. Within a few years after completion, the canals started to become obsolete after railroads arrived on the scene. Goods and people could now go from Cincinnati to Toledo in a much shorter period of time. With less usage and thus less mon-ey to maintain them, the canals gradually fell into disrepair and ultimately met their demise as a means of transportation when western Ohio was hit by a historical flood in 1913. Some of those cities that were originally canal stops ceased to exist, others remain to this day.
When the canals were no longer used for transportation, people associated with the canals lost their jobs and companies went broke. Change for them was hard. The railroads, while certainly still with us today, also gradually de-clined in popularity and usage when automobiles and state routes became available. Many railroad lines were abandoned and some cities who had been major stops along the way suffered economic hardships when the railroads no longer passed through them. Companies who thrived supporting the railroads went out of business. Change for those towns and those companies was hard. However, many bike and walking paths (like the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail) are located where those rail lines used to be – a good change. While many of the state routes are still around today, their usage also declined after the in-terstate system was built. The interstate system allowed for much faster transportation, but it also resulted in economic hardship in small towns across the state as the traffic through their towns plummeted. Change for those towns was hard; some have yet to bounce back. Then came a greater usage of air travel and transportation. Today, many people prefer to hop on a plane to get somewhere rather than drive. Some goods are now shipped, in part, via planes with some orders for goods arriving the very next day.
Think of all the changes that have occurred since the canals. Forty U.S. presi-dents. Thirty-three new states have been added to the union. A Civil War, two world wars, among other wars, sadly took place. We put a man on the moon. The internet came. On and on we could go. From canals to planes a great deal of change, both good and bad, has occurred over the last 200 years. If you travel from Cincinnati to Toledo in 2024 it is no longer a 3-day journey. Still awake? I hope so because we’ve begun to make our spiritual application.
Change is also a fact in our personal lives. Some changes we welcome and rejoice about. On the other hand, some changes are unnerving and undesira-ble. Our physical bodies gradually decay. Our employers and jobs change. People who are dear to us pass away. Others are born into this world, and we joyfully welcome their entrance into our lives. Classmates, co-workers, neigh-bors, friends, family, and fellow saints come and go.
But no matter how much changes in the world, this nation, and in our personal lives, Jesus is there. He is eternal. He has not moved. He remains near, watching over us, and helping us to get through the challenging changes in our lives. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “… You are same, and your years will not come to end” (Hebrews 1:12). “… and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
No matter what changes occur in our lives the kingdom of Jesus will always be with us. Long ago in captivity Daniel proclaimed this, “And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom. That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away. And His kingdom is one which Won’t be destroyed” (Dan. 7:14).
No matter what changes occur in our lives the Word of God never changes. I can always know what is righteous and what is sinful. I can always know if I am being faithful to Jesus or not. I can always know if I am worshipping God in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). In 1 Peter 1:23, the apostle refers to the Word of God as “living and enduring”.
For each soul, a time will come when changes will never occur again. For the disobedient, an eternal damnation in Hell (Mt. 25:41, Rom. 2:5-9). But, for the repentant, faithful, obedient Christian there will be eternal life with our Father, Savior, Helper, and all the saved saints of all time (Mt. 25:46, Rom. 2:7,10)!
When those difficult times of change come upon us, let us remember to pray to our Father (Philippians 4:6). Let us “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and per-fecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), and the Savior of our souls (I John 4:14). Let us hold tight to the words of the Spirit (Titus 1:9). Let us love one another and cling to one another (John 13:34).
Finally, it is also important to remember that we are not God and thus we cannot see the future. That being the case let us strive to have faith in Jesus that changes in our lives that we dislike may be end up being better for us and/or others sometime down the road. Some changes turn out to be just fine. Would you rather take three days to get to Tole-do in a mosquito-infested canal downwind of two mules or drive for three hours or fly for 30 minutes? The canal boat captain proclaims, “All aboard on the canal boat for Toledo!” My response is, “No thanks sir, I’ll take the plane.”
