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Topic: Water (04/26/04)
TITLE: Our Water World By Luke Perry 04/28/04 |
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Now the trouble with talking about water is that you can’t state its importance; any attempt to describe its worth is destined to be an understatement. Water gives life, or rather it sustains it. What can one say to describe a resource so valuable?
Ponder a time when there was only water. Great sea creatures lived within it; enormous whales, countless fish, all the colors one could imagine, scenery so unique one could spend his life and not document but a tiny portion of it. Life existed already. There was life without us. Water was here first, the sustaining gift of life arrived ahead of us, for us.
I have to ask myself how much I really know about water. I suppose I know more about what is does, than what it is. What is nature without water? Everything stops, everything dies, and no not one living thing upon this earth would survive. What about us? We find ourselves here on earth in a situation where we are dependent upon water. No one had the choice of whether he would need water or not. There are some things in this life over which we have no control; we must have water for life. What does this tell us about ourselves? This tells us that we live in a world where what we need is provided for us.
It is easy to speak universally about water. Every person on the planet recognizes his need for it, if only through thirst. What thirsty person would turn away from water, or does not search for it? I believe that water tells us something about of the nature of God; if not to simply show his immeasurable genius, to illustrate to us his aptitude of knowledge for what we need. I suppose an evolutionist or atheist would concede water as nature’s greatest invention; the magnitude and significance of water is lost on no one.
Now, anyone with a bit of sense knows that without water you’ll die. But we humans are so much more complex that just creatures who need water, and yet we are that vulnerable. Dependent and complex, we live our lives searching for something that satisfies. With our physiological needs met, we search for meaning and purpose. To use a simple metaphor we are searching for the water of the soul. Just as dependent as the physical body is for water, the soul is on something else. Would God not provide for the soul as he does for the physical body? And would not water for the soul be as refreshing and nourishing as water to the physical body? What does this suggest about us and God? I believe it suggests a dependence on God that extends well beyond our physiological needs.
If you’re convinced God has provided for the soul, I suppose that you will keep on searching until you find what he has given. Now let me save you some time by saying “Jesus.” He won’t force himself upon you, but you need him. No one forces you to drink water, but you thirst for it. Of course words are insufficient to convince, so I will just say “Jesus.” Now the trouble with talking about Jesus is that you can’t state his importance; any attempt to describe his meaning is destined to be an understatement.