Spring is an amazing time of year. Things begin to grow again after a winter of being dormant and you are reminded just what plants are hidden around. Even though spring happens every year, there are some years when the beauty is in larger abundance. When there is a rainy springtime, it causes life to pop up in an even more vivid way. Rain is needed to help bring more beauty and life to the earth.
With the spring rain comes fuller rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs. The higher water levels mean a greater length of life for the surrounding areas. However, there are some reservoirs that have a very small inlet and an almost non-existent outlet.
These ponds or reservoirs look alright in the early spring, but as time goes on, and as the rains cease, things begin to change. With no spring to feed them, and no outlet to cause a cleaning movement in the water, there is only one possible end to these glorified ponds: stagnant water.
There is a small reservoir near my home that is nasty. By June it's getting gross, and by July there are signs posted telling you to stay out of the water and not let your pets drink it, as it has begun to grow dangerous algae. As the summer progresses, fish begin to die and animals avoid it. All this happens because there is no movement of the water; it's stagnant.
Have you ever asked yourself if your faith is stagnant? Are you stuck thinking that an occasional connection with Jesus will sustain your faith and practice? Will a little spiritual rain keep your reservoir healthy if there isn’t a regular intake and a thriving outlet?
Our relationship with Jesus must contain two vital characteristics: intake — a personal daily connection with Jesus as our Lord and Savior — and outlet — sharing Jesus, His salvation and love for humanity and how others can come to a saving relationship with Him. If we do not possess both of these characteristics, we are at risk of being stagnant.
The Bible is crystal clear on this concept. The inlet — our relationship with Jesus — is vital for our salvation. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). We are to invite Jesus into our lives and let Him transform us.
When we spend regular time with Jesus, our faith will last during both good and trying times, and we will have something to truly share with others. Much like a pond would dry up if it had no inlet and just an outlet, we must have an active relationship so we have something to share or let out.
The outlet is just as important if we want a living relationship with Jesus. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). We can’t truly experience real faith until we let that faith actually transform our actions. When we have been changed by getting to know Jesus, we can’t help but share how He has saved us and how He longs to save all those who will come to Him.
A love for God that drives a living relationship with Him will cause us to be like springs of living water, but we can’t stop there. Our relationship with Jesus is to be so real and alive that we must share. Like a healthy waterway needs an inlet and outlet, we too must have Jesus as our source and spill over with Him and share with others.
Don’t be stagnant; instead, be truly alive with Jesus. Fill yourself with Jesus as the Living Water, and let your relationship with Him pour out of you so others may see the salvation they, too, may have in Jesus.
