We live in a fairly rural setting. If a person drives on most any road in our neighborhood, he or she will pass through many wooded areas and drive by many pastures or houses on 3-5 acre tracts. It is like that all the way to where my wife works, and almost all the way to where I work. We really enjoy it out here. Traffic is light; the nearest stoplight is about five miles away, and, unless it is cloudy, the stars always shine brightly at night, inviting one to look up into the heavens and think of God.
I’ve noticed that there are lots of ponds out here, too. Almost all of them are man-made, although not far from our place there is a pond (more of a swampy marsh, now) that was built by beavers a number of years ago.
Most of the ponds were created by putting a low dam across a stream as it crossed the property-owner’s land. There are a few I’ve seen which were built around or at the mouths of small springs. A few consist of holes dug in the ground where the water table isn’t far below the surface. Seepage fills these. A few ponds depend on run-off from eroded hillsides, so are constantly receiving the flow of muddy water.
It is hard to
find any of these ponds that are filled with semi-clear water. A few are fed by a fairly good sources of water, and there is overflow, so that there is turn-over of the ponds’ water. Most of these ponds, however, are in the cattle fields, so even though there is the potential for clear water, the cows and/or horses keep the water stirred up and muddy most of the time.
Since the majority of the ponds rely on scant inflow and rarely have any outflow, during the summer they tend to get a lot of algae covering them. The water in these ponds obviously is quite stagnant and, to my mind, repugnant, even without the thought of cows wading in to keep cool.
Our spiritual hearts are not unlike ponds. Without an inflow of water, they will dry up and shrivel. A trickle of water might keep the water level full, but the thoughts of the heart will become filled with a mass of algae if there is not an abundant flow of water. Is it possible to have beasts wading in our hearts, muddying up the water? Of course. Is it possible that the only water flowing in is already so dirty the pond of the heart can never become clean?
I’ve occasionally seen some of the owners go out to clean their ponds. They may drain them, scrape out the mud, put in new inflow and outflow pipes. Others may apply coloring agents and chemicals to settle the suspended particles and kill the algae. But in a few months, the ponds look like they did before.
The only way to have a clean pond is to have a strong inflow of clean water, and a strong outflow. The same is true with our spiritual hearts. It doesn’t do much good for the Lord to come in and clean the heart unless we pass on the fresh water He sends. The only way to keep from becoming spiritually stagnant is to become active in sharing the water that enters our lives. In essence, the Lord wants us to be passage ways for His love rather than storage facilities. So, check the source of water coming into your spiritual life, and if you need to change it, do so. And make sure the outflow matches or, better yet, exceeds the inflow. And keep Satan’s cows away.
You do know how to string barbed-wire, don’t you?
Dr. G
I’ve noticed that there are lots of ponds out here, too. Almost all of them are man-made, although not far from our place there is a pond (more of a swampy marsh, now) that was built by beavers a number of years ago.
Most of the ponds were created by putting a low dam across a stream as it crossed the property-owner’s land. There are a few I’ve seen which were built around or at the mouths of small springs. A few consist of holes dug in the ground where the water table isn’t far below the surface. Seepage fills these. A few ponds depend on run-off from eroded hillsides, so are constantly receiving the flow of muddy water.
It is hard to
find any of these ponds that are filled with semi-clear water. A few are fed by a fairly good sources of water, and there is overflow, so that there is turn-over of the ponds’ water. Most of these ponds, however, are in the cattle fields, so even though there is the potential for clear water, the cows and/or horses keep the water stirred up and muddy most of the time.Since the majority of the ponds rely on scant inflow and rarely have any outflow, during the summer they tend to get a lot of algae covering them. The water in these ponds obviously is quite stagnant and, to my mind, repugnant, even without the thought of cows wading in to keep cool.
Our spiritual hearts are not unlike ponds. Without an inflow of water, they will dry up and shrivel. A trickle of water might keep the water level full, but the thoughts of the heart will become filled with a mass of algae if there is not an abundant flow of water. Is it possible to have beasts wading in our hearts, muddying up the water? Of course. Is it possible that the only water flowing in is already so dirty the pond of the heart can never become clean?
I’ve occasionally seen some of the owners go out to clean their ponds. They may drain them, scrape out the mud, put in new inflow and outflow pipes. Others may apply coloring agents and chemicals to settle the suspended particles and kill the algae. But in a few months, the ponds look like they did before.
The only way to have a clean pond is to have a strong inflow of clean water, and a strong outflow. The same is true with our spiritual hearts. It doesn’t do much good for the Lord to come in and clean the heart unless we pass on the fresh water He sends. The only way to keep from becoming spiritually stagnant is to become active in sharing the water that enters our lives. In essence, the Lord wants us to be passage ways for His love rather than storage facilities. So, check the source of water coming into your spiritual life, and if you need to change it, do so. And make sure the outflow matches or, better yet, exceeds the inflow. And keep Satan’s cows away.
You do know how to string barbed-wire, don’t you?
Dr. G
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