Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
Water is a necessary element for life. Ancient cities were founded with two main concerns; first there must be an ample water source to support the people and second they must be able to defend themselves from enemies who might attack. In arid climates, it became necessary to capture any rainfall and store it for the dry season. Without the advent of poly tanks or cement, the method for creating a reservoir was to cut a pool out of a massive bolder. Imagine the amount of work it took using hand tools, to hollow out a bolder into a swimming pool. This would not be the work of days or weeks, but that of years, and perhaps a lifetime. What a tragedy it would be if, after it was finally completed, you found that it had a leak and would not hold water. Jeremiah uses this vivid imagery to illustrate the impact of turning away from the Lord. He describes the backslider as one who has both turned from the source of living water and spent his life digging a pool that will not hold water.
Fortunately, it is not too late to mend your ways. If you have turned from Christ in pursuit of other things, all you need to do is turn back to Him. In life, if we make a wrong turn and travel an hour out of our way, it will take us an hour to get back, but the same is not true as it relates to returning to the Lord. If you walked away from Jesus five years ago, it will not take five years to get back. It takes only a moment. All you need to do is turn to Him, confess your sins, and start following Him and His word.
I was in an open air church building in a tropical climate when, just as the service, ended it began to rain. Because of the way the building was designed, I could exit from either the front or the back of church. As I looked more carefully, I observed that it was only raining in the back. I had a choice to make, I could walk in the sun or I could walk in the rain. I chose the sun and made my way out without getting wet. The same is true as it relates to life. We get to make a choice. We can choose to turn to the Lord, and walk in His ways, or we can choose to ignore Him, and continue down a path that will never satisfy, and leave us wanting, when we face eternity.
I think it is time to start walking in the sunshine.
Pastor Jim
The Bible teaches that true life will only be experienced when a person is in relationship with God through Christ. This is due to the fact that we are, by nature, spiritual being. Just as our natural bodies have appetites that must be satisfied, so spiritually, we crave relationship with the God who made us. Job describes a person apart from God as a man who is treading wine and yet still suffering thirst. Every attempt we make to satisfy our thirst for God without Christ, will never truly satisfy us. Yet, it seems that many will try just about anything other than Jesus.
Jim Gallagher 