Let’s see…Get water from a fresh mountain spring (living water), or take a slip from someone else’s canteen from that spring? Okay, and imagine they just ate broccoli.
I think one of the worst things we can do, spiritually speaking, is try to get someone to drink from our spiritual canteen. We contaminate the message. That’s right, backwash. I’ve been guilty of this, and maybe you have been too.
We try to be convincing in our position, hoping the other person sees it our way, which just has to be the right way, because we just somehow “get it”. Then, we get surprised sometimes that they don’t like the message, or the messenger.
What’s the answer? What works?
Helping someone find the spring itself. Letting them feel the invigorating water for themselves, splash some of it over their fatigued body, and drink deeply from the Source. Not everyone will follow us there, but we can still tell them about what they can experience for themselves. We can think of ourselves as guides, not debaters. We can’t expect that anybody wants the stuff we kept in storage.
The same is true for us, and we can’t forget it! If we don’t fill up our spiritual canteen for ourselves, often, we’ll putrefy our pathetic container. We can’t settle, and get used to our stale, overstored water. Seriously. We’ll make ourselves sick.
While we make our way to the Spring, to engage in regular, honest intimacy with God, we can bring some weary travelers along with us. Nothing else will do.
Nothing quenches like water…from the source.
When was the last time you spiritually “drank from the Source”? AND What do you do to make sure the Living water doesn’t get stale in your spiritual canteen? I’d like to hear your ideas. Thanks for reading this today. Live Blessed.
-Lisa
I really liked this post. Why debate, take them to the source and let them drink?
and I need exercise/the outdoors to keep me not stale. I need to leave the house and/or other buildings and be surrounded by trees and sky.
Some lakes are formed by rivers or streams flowing into a lower land area. Bays are formed when the ocean washes into a cove. Some creeks are formed by water springing up from an underground source. Puddles are formed by rain falling down. The point is, bodies of water have sources.
As the angel in Ezekiel 47 brought the prophet to the place where the waters of God’s grace were deep enough to swim in, he paused. “Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.” (Ezekiel 47:5) At that point, the angel turned Ezekiel around, and they returned to the brink of the river. “And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.” (Ezekiel 47:6)
The river of God’s grace which flows steadily into the lives of Christians is a wonderful thing. It brings such blessings, in fact, that there is a temptation to bask in these blessings, and to forget the Source of the river. In other words, we sometimes enjoy the blessings and ignore the “Blessor.” When you find yourself saturated in the grace of God, and you are splashing, soaking, and swimming in His blessings, do not forget to seek the Source of the river of life. The sweetest, coolest, and best waters are found in the presence of the Source Himself.
amen