What is the point of writing, I wondered, when there are already so many words? Books have been written, article after article, daily news stories, and now billions of words added daily online. Writing seems as useful as spitting into the ocean.
But then I considered water: even though it is common enough to cover the earth, it's not all drinkable. The largest bodies of water are too salty. Even when floods appear, the water becomes contaminated by dirt and ruined objects. And there are still places where droughts happen, though nature continuously recirculates water through evaporation to move, restore and refresh it. And even fresh rain can be contaminated in air by man's pollution.
Like drops of water, many words out there do not bring life. They discourage, frighten, deceive or mislead. It's not just water that's needed but fresh, living water, and it is not just words that are needed, but life-giving words.
"For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me." John 7:38 (TLB)
Title based on quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
Friday
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a graphic and intense war movie* about a mission to save a soldier in Normandy during World War II because he is the last survivor of 4 brothers, the other 3 killed in action.
Many of those sent to save him are also killed on the mission to return her last son to the grieving mother.
This film makes me think of the responsibility each of us has to reach each others' families. Often our loved ones don't listen to us about Christianity, but if each of us shares the good news in our own way, the families of those around us might be rescued. I hope someone will reach my brother in time!
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” (Matthew 13:57 NIV)
*Released in 1998 by Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures
Many of those sent to save him are also killed on the mission to return her last son to the grieving mother.
This film makes me think of the responsibility each of us has to reach each others' families. Often our loved ones don't listen to us about Christianity, but if each of us shares the good news in our own way, the families of those around us might be rescued. I hope someone will reach my brother in time!
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” (Matthew 13:57 NIV)
*Released in 1998 by Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures
Pets In The Sunshine
My two dogs squint in the bright daylight, and enjoy the slight breeze that makes hair flutter, and gently cools my skin as I sit on the back step. They pant-smile and sniff around the yard. Less at ease is my pet bird. Hauled outside in her cage, she sees unfamiliar 'greenness', hears wild birds, and feels outdoor air in her tiny lungs. Cautiously she chirps, as a fly loudly buzzes past. As I compare her small quarters to the vastness outside, I realize there is a vastness around all of us, and only a tiny part of the world's experiences that any of us ever really touch - contained by our limitations of time, body, opportunity, finances, ownership, imagination, ability and motivation, to name a few.
Job 38:18a "Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?"
Job 38:18a "Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?"
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