1 John 3:16-18 (ESV)
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for
us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has
the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against
him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in
word or talk but in deed and in truth.
In Israel there is an interesting geographical phenomenon
– there are two landlocked seas. One is alive and one is dead. The sea full of
life is the Kinneret, better known as the Sea of Galilee. The dead sea
is.......you guessed it, the Dead Sea. Now the Kinneret is constantly emptying
as it flows through the Jordan River valley.... into the Dead Sea. But the Dead
Sea does not empty its water at all. Instead, the Dead Sea is continually
shrinking, because the intense heat at this lowest place on Earth actually
evaporates more water than is flowing in. Do you see a parable here?
The Sea that is alive is the one that gives. The more of yourself,
of your life, of your love, that you pour out, the more alive, filled up, and
refreshed you will become. The Lord Jesus exemplified this to the greatest
extent ever, by giving all He was and all He had, even to those who hated Him
and were His bitter enemies. And the love that He gave was returned to Him by
His Father in the resurrection, and by all the multitude of His redeemed people
throughout all ages and into eternity. Could it possibly be any different for
those of us who live lives of giving and loving? No. We will continue to be
filled by the Lord's infinite abundance no matter how much we pour ourselves
out. Of course, if we hold back, keeping all we have to ourselves, we will
begin to evaporate and die...
Give and you will live. Love, and you will be filled with
God’s love. Hold back, and even that which you have will vanish away.
There once was a sea that was dead
It was, 'cause it only got fed
And never gave up
Not one single cup
Now that's something to keep in your head
Let's be givers. Let's be lovers. Empty ourselves into
His Kingdom, into His work, and be constantly refilled with His love, power and
peace.
Dear Lord, help us to be givers and lovers. We pray that
through our actions we will show Your great love to those around us. In the
Name of Jesus, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment