With this new season, I'm enjoying all
the changes. I especially like the water
ways, the crispness in the air and the sound of life as people are
back outside from the winter. The open water has always been a place
for me to retreat, relax and even rejuvenate. Whenever I can get to
the water, I'm totally receiving God, meeting the creator in
the beauty of the bay.
We used to sing a song at Bible camp
when we were growing up called, “As the Deer” based on Psalm
42:1 which says, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long
for you , O God”. The song goes like this, As the deer panteth
for the water so my soul longeth after thee. You alone are my
heart's desire and I long to worship thee. You alone are my strength
my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my
heart's desire and I long to worship thee. You're my friend, you
are my brother, even though you are a king. I love you more than any
other, so much more than anything. I want you more than gold or
silver, only you can satisfy. You alone are the real joy giver, the
apple of my eye. You alone are my strength my shield.
As I read this
Psalm in the New Living Translation of the Life Application Bible, I
find it encouraging, helping me retain a sense of wonder in worship.
As the life of a deer depends on water, so our lives must depend
upon God. We are spiritually dry and need to continually run to
the streams of living water. Those who seek him and long to
understand him find eternal life. Feeling depressed or separated
from God, this psalmist wouldn't rest until he restored his
relationship with God because he knew that his very life depended on
it.
Jesus said,
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the
Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40). Loving God and loving others are our
commands. Without continually going to the water's edge to drink and
be filled, we may find life is lacking Jesus' power and authority.
Mother Teresa
understood this deep level of consistently loving God, “drinking
from the springs of living water” and serving people. She met with
God and fought for justice because she saw the image of God in
the the lepers, the crippled, and the street urchins she served.
Jesus didn't say, “As you've done it to the BEST of these, you've
done it to me.” It's the “least of these” with whom Jesus
identified and Jesus is life. It's the Mother Teresa's of the world
that can encourage us to continually get to the water, yield
ourselves to God, finding security as He replenishes our soul.
Spending time with God will teach us what is truly important on this
earth in relation to Jesus and justice.
“When a poor
person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take
care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted
to give that person what he or she needed. We have refused to be
instruments of love in the hands of God to give to the poor a piece
of bread, to offer them a dress with which to ward off the cold. It
has happened because we did not recognize Christ when, once more, he
appeared under the guise of pain, identified with a man numb form the
cold, dying of hunger, when he came in a lonely human being in a lost
child in search of a home”. -- Mother Teresa, The Path of
Love, “Mother's Wisdom”
Let's get to the
water's edge, be filled with new life and serve Jesus as we seek
justice for the poor and oppressed.
--Jayme
--Jayme
