My people have done two evils: They have turned away
from me, the spring of living water. And they have dug their own wells
(NCV, Jeremiah 2:13).
I’ve never dug a well, but I have dug trenches for footers
and water lines. It’s hot, dirty work. Put yourself in Jeremiah’s place. It’s a
hot, dry day. You offer someone a pitcher of pure, refreshing water, but rather
than accept your thirst-quenching, even
life-saving gift, they raise their hands in the international symbol for Stop,
and declare, No, I’m going to dig my own well. Not only will the work
be physically exhausting, but the muddy water they’re going to get (if any) is
hours, maybe days away. And the taste won’t even compare. Sure, it might keep
them alive, but that’s about all.
Who would make that choice? We do – every day. Why is it
when God freely offers us his best, we go digging for something inferior?
We’re like hemoglobin. (How’s that for a left turn?) You
see, I was a paramedic before I became a pastor. Did you know that if the
hemoglobin in our red blood cells is given the choice, it prefers to bond with
carbon monoxide rather than oxygen? That means if hemoglobin has a vacant seat,
and both an oxygen molecule and a carbon monoxide molecule are waiting on the
curb, the hemoglobin will pick up the carbon monoxide almost every time. It
seems to make the hemoglobin happy… and then we die.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Think about times you’ve
settled for muddy water in the past. Christ offers you the free gift of living
water today. Will you receive it, or insist on muddy?
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