Water of life

Life, it’s everywhere. From the lowest depths of our great oceans to the outer limits of our atmosphere life is present, adapting and growing.  As you examine the world around you water will be at the heart of this phenomenon. It’s the requirement needed for all life to begin, grow and in which it flourishes. Even a tiny baby is protected and begins life surrounded by a watery bubble, safe and sound in their mother’s womb. 

In nature water is the only compound that can exist, on its own, in three phases (solid, liquid, gas) at the same time. Vast oceans of water cover our globe and surround the continents we live on becoming a giant buffering system for all life on earth. We watch and admire as water vapor is evaporated from these massive oceans rising into our atmosphere forming feather canyons and ice cream shaped cloud castles for our enjoyment. These heavy laden giants release their bounty of fresh water over land masses where the rain soaks the ground eventually flowing back into rivers and streams.

All you have to do is look through a microscope at a drop of pond water to discover it teaming with life. Our planet is an amazing incubator in which all life wants to thrive and compete for its place in the world. We marvel at their apparent connection to one another as well as their ability to adapt and survive in some extreme environmental conditions. 

The realization that water is the essence of life has encouraged many cultures to incorporate water into their worship. They search far and wide, traveling up mighty rivers to their source hoping to find sacred springs or fountains of life that might preserve them in the hope of fighting off the inevitable aging process.

On a practical level there is nothing more satisfying to quench our thirst then a glass of water. Cool, clean, crystal clear water the essence of what your body needs to live by making up ninety plus percent of our body’s mass. It is the quintessential element of all life.

Although we are mostly made of H2O there is something more that makes us who we are. It’s an elusive unique quality that makes Peter different from John or James. Although these traits can be acquired they also seem to be pre disposed at conception through our genes that are carefully recorded in our DNA.

Who we are, the way in which we see the world around us as well as interact with it transcends the physical world of molecules, elements and compounds. There’s an elusive spark to life that is hard to put our finger on, which can’t be ignored and is present in all living things to one degree or another.

This breath of life that fills us and animates us is responsible for turning ordinary inorganic dust into living breathing creatures. We are totally helpless at birth but created with an innate ability to make a sound so nerve racking that our parents would be motivated to attend to our every need. There is also a genetic-parental-emotional connection that insures that our parents will provide, protect and nurture us.

Our Creator has designed into us and the life around us amazing systems to ensure our survival. He was the One, who in the very beginning filled lifeless earth with His own breath thus turning dust into living creatures. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”

Jesus taught that all creation needed to do was cry out to their Heavenly Father and he would provide what they needed “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Jesus went on to explain that if we as ordinary parents only give good gifts to our own children when they ask, then how much more will our Heavenly Father give to those who ask of Him! 

God loves us. He had a plan in place from the very beginning and that plan is still on schedule, and by the way it’s His schedule. What an incredible world we live in that is filled with wonder at every turn. Are you ready to exercise your free will by calling out to your Heavenly Father?

In the last chapter, of the last book in the bible there is an invitation to all creation. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”  Jesus is the water of life!

 

Bumper stickers

Watching bumper stickers go by can be interesting, humorous, mystifying as well as baffling. It seems many of us have the need to enlighten our fellow travelers about an idea, boast of some successful challenge or reprimand thousands of complete strangers about some pet peeve that haunts and taunts them. Some bumper stickers often reflect rude pornographic thoughts while others try and convince us that they are part of a special group, set apart for a Devine purpose.

I have often thought of several slogans myself that I believed should appear on a bumper sticker. At the time of conception they seemed like just the right message to display and that if I pursued their publication I would soon sell millions. However, after passing a work truck the other day and reading several prominently displayed bumper stickers that made absolutely no sense to me I have decided not to publish any of my own.

Some bumper stickers which encourage slower drivers to use the right hand lanes, encourage faster drivers to slow down  or discourage tailgating seem to be ignored by all who need to change that specific behavior. Other bumper stickers that endorse political candidates, environmental concerns or medical cures seem like a good idea as long as they don’t invite mischief from others of opposing views. We should all be willing to agree to disagree without any retaliation or resentment. 

Freedom of speech, the sharing of ideas and the right to persuade others is a glorious right that is worth fighting for. Unfortunately, not everything is benign to share for discussion, publication or for our view on a passing bumper.  There is a line to what is edifying and what is destructive.

One bumper sticker suggests that we should all be tolerant of each other’s religious views. But what if your religious view insists on my extermination? Even within Christendom there have arisen many divisions on doctrine, tradition and religious practices. These divisions have widened so much that over the centuries many killings and bloody wars have been fought in the name of God. 

 Over these many centuries since the death of Jesus, the giving of the Spirit and the birth of the church divisions have continued over interpretation of what Jesus said, taught or commanded. In some instances these divisions have   grown into hateful dogma that is contradictory to what Jesus originally came to teach us about; that we should love one another.

As men become more rigid and lose their flexibility their hearing begins to dim and suddenly “our way” is the only way to find God, obtain salvation or enter into fellowship with one another. Soon their causes turn to crusades that usually end with men and women were being burned, tortured or murdered.

Look around you and you will see a variety of skin colors, cultures and customs. Everyone ever born was created in the image of God.  We are all His creation and children who when injured all bleed the exact same red blood. There isn’t any one group that is better, has more potential or is worthy to receive special revelation. 

There is a spiritual battle raging among the nations, a battle whose roots go back so far that many don’t even know what it is all about. This destructive force is alive and raging on many city streets in our great country. It wasn’t all that long ago that our great civil war divided families and put some brothers and cousins on opposite sides of a rifle barrel.

By definition there can only be one God and His name is Jehovah. There is only one church and Jesus is the head of it. We are all His purchased possession, His bride and bond servants who need to stop fighting and begin to allow the Spirit to do His job of cleansing us. 

From the burning bush to a manger in Bethlehem God has touched the soil where we live, walked among us and has invited us to join him on a walk into eternity.  The battle that rages on in the heavens among the angelic creatures doesn’t have to pour out onto us here on earth to reign in our hearts and minds.

 Jesus holds the key to life everlasting and He alone is the only one who is worthy to open the seal. He is the head of the church, the Alpha and the Omega. He is the bright Morning Star, first born of all creation and He will one day rule and reign, His kingdom here on earth, with an iron scepter. So If you have faith in Him then you already have His mark on your forehead. It’s a mark that was made with a permanent marker, a heavenly bumper sticker that reads “I belong to Jesus!”

Reaching out

The kitten darted back into the protection of an empty can of ranch beans. She was as orange as a carrot and as quick as a gazelle. Nobody knew where the little one belonged but all agreed that she couldn’t be much older than five weeks. How she had survived the many hazards of Pine Springs RV Park was beyond comprehension. From the security of her new armored cave the tiny kitten hissed and swatted at anyone who tried to come close. She had already bitten a very nice lady who discovered her hiding beside her trailer partially hidden under a mountain lilac.

 

Before long a plan was conceived and put into action to capture the kitten and get it out of danger and into the security of someone’s home. A simple cage with food was set out to lure the animal in. After several minutes, with everyone hiding just out of sight, the hungry, little  orange tabby creped cautiously into the cage as the park ranger let go of the string that held up the door. The little kitten, which could have easily fit into the palm of your hand, threw back her ears, bared her sharply pointed teeth and scratched several times at the air.

A phone call was made to a local pastor’s wife and within minutes she was on her way to claim the frightened animal.  Jane was excited to finally have another addition to their family as they had recently lost another cat to old age.

Once arriving at their house Jane prepared the bathroom placing the kitten and  cage on the floor and opened the door. The kitten quickly ran out taking up a strategic position behind the toilet where she felt safer to fend off predators. 

She was wild at heart and determined to stay that way. Many attempts were made to coax her out from behind her porcelain protection using a variety of foods, kitten treats and soft singing but the little tiger would not budge and hissed threatening to bite at every attempt that was made.

Jane imagined how the little kitten must have felt being born into a crazy, dangerous world filled with a variety of metal machine monsters. These steel giants not only towered over her but made loud terrifying grinding; clicking noises that sent her scurrying back to the protection of the can. The park was located at the edge of a wild forest area where many predators like raccoons, skunks, weasels, possums, bob cats, mountain lions and coyotes randomly wandered through Pine Springs in search of unsuspecting prey.  The little newborn kitten was an easy target.

Once Jane returned home she was eager to reach out to hold her new prize. She had a soft spot in her heart for small animals and without thinking quickly reached behind the toilet gently picking up the kitten. Immediately the cute little kitten transformed into a whirling dervish of fur, sharp claws and needle like teeth that pierced her flesh as she squirmed and churned in Jane’s hands. When the dust finally had settled there was not one finger without a wound. 

Bound and determined to pet the kitten, one of Jane’s children rolled up a soft, fluffy scarf and put it on the end of a long stick. Slowly reaching back towards the kitten the friendly soft balled up scarf began gently rubbing the top of the kitten’s head. At first she instinctively began to hiss and then as if a switch was turned on began to purr very loudly. 

The next day a stuffed animal was introduced instead of the fluffy scarf and it wasn’t long until the stick was replaced by the son’s warm hand. It was amazing to see how quickly the kitten responded to the family’s care, love and kindness.

Watching this entire story unfold caused me to pause and think about many people we meet in our lives as we work and wander through this world.  Just like the kitten many people have grown up or are living in situations where they are not receiving enough love, kindness or encouragement to mature into healthy, well adjusted people. Children especially need to feel secure and the ones who grow up without the love of a parent often develop defensive postures for life just was the case of the little kitten that was hiding behind the toilet.

 Reaching

When our Lord , Jesus of Nazareth, walked the earth he poured out His entire life to love, nurture and encourage people to thrive. He reassured people that their Heavenly Father really loved them. He never missed an opportunity to reach out to anyone who needed hope. People will eventually respond to us if we will do our part to reach out to them where they are with love.