I've come to know God's love as a spring of sweet, fresh and clear water. It flows naturally from a deep river of the universe. The taste is like no other drink, it does miracles, and is free to all those that find it.
Many others have discovered the same sort of spring. Some will simply enjoy its pleasures and refreshment. Others build an ornate house near the discovery. They invite friends and strangers to come to the miracle flow. It becomes the center of a society.
Watching the stream trickle down the hillside, some conclude a dam could hold the water. They create a lake and entice people to join them. The water rises and floods the valley. Light dances across the surface. "Come, we have the lake of life", they say. The community grows.
From the activity, dirt and debris fall into the lake. The reservoir becomes muddy and polluted. Silt and salt build because the spring is no longer free. To drink the water means illness or death. The lake dies.
Still they say, "come". They praise the past miracles of the water. They dip and sprinkle devotees, bottle the water and send missionaries around the globe with their medicine show.
Those people do not understand that this type of spring defies confinement, pollution, and imprisonment. Perhaps one day that dam will break and that spring will again flow freely down the hill. Regardless of their efforts, the river of the universe still flows and finds other space to burst forth into the world. There remains places the water flows freely, clear and sweet.
I've pitched my tent by just such a place. It is remote, quiet and peaceful. There is no map to get here. There are no directions or signposts. Not many journey by. Those that do are welcome to sit and share for as long as their itinerary allows.
It is not my spring. The water is free to all that stop. However, should anyone decide to build on this site, I'll be moving on. |
