(The following is an excerpt from Max Lucado’s “Come Thirsty”)
“Don’t make the mistake that the associates of Lawrence of Arabia made. He took them to Paris after World War I. They had never seen such sights. The Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s tomb, the Champs Élysées. But nothing impressed these men from the Arabian Desert more than the faucet in the bathtub of their hotel room. They turned it on and off, on and off, amazed that with a twist of the wrist they could have all the water they wanted.
When the time came to leave Paris and return to the east, Lawrence found them in the bathroom with wrenches, trying to disconnect the spout. ‘We need faucets,’ they explained. ‘If we have them, we will have all the water we want.’
They didn’t understand the role of the faucet. Spouts carry water, not produce it. Spigots are the tool, not the source. The valve might direct fluid, but generate it? No. We know this…
Or do we? Through what faucets has God poured his love into your life? A faithful church? A prayerful spouse? Time-tested traditions? A girlfriend in college or a grandma from childhood? God’s water passes through many faucets. His gift comes in many packages. The treasure, however, is not the plumbing or the box, not the container of the gift. No, the treasure is the Giver Himself.
… God describes Himself as ‘the fountain of living water’ (Jer. 2:13). Thank Him for the faucets, but don’t trust them to nourish you.”
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“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me [not to my prophets or people] and drink” (John 7:37).
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Why is it that even as a self-professed follower of Christ, I find myself so quickly (and repeatedly) running to all my other ‘resources’ before finally tapping into THEE Resource? The One Who promises “a perpetual spring within (me)” (John 4:14)? Why, so often, is He my last resort? When all other sources run dry? When He’s done nothing other than prove Himself faithful and true to His Word every time I do come to Him thirsty?
Lord, ‘Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee’!
Lord, ‘Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee’!
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1 comment:
Great post! Love the analogy. Actually yesterday I was thinking about a similar thing - as I watched the water pour out of the faucet overflowing in my hands - I thought this is how God is to us - pouring out to overflowing - but so often we belief He is more like a tiny trickle and our unbelief keeps us from experiencing all He desires to give and show us.
May we deeply and fully understand He is God of much more and not much less as we often act.
Smiles,
Rachel
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