Go to the Source

This weekend, my wife and I were blessed to be able to spend our 30th wedding anniversary in the hills of Arkansas.

Natural springs and water sheds contribute the the enumerable babbling brooks scattered throughout the beautiful landscape. We're both in awe of the beauty and always tempted to pull off the road whenever possible to view the scenery, take in the fresh air, and enjoy sounds of creation.

At one point while looking a ways upstream, I noticed several industrial drain pipes extending to the creek bed. Now, let me be clear. In no way am I suggesting that anything nefarious was taking place. I simply took notice of the situation and it reminded me of an educational experience during my teenage years.

Behind my father's house was a pond which was fed by an artesian spring. From time to time, my siblings and I would venture to that area and explore a bit. On one such day, we began our trek from where the spring met the pond and traversed the gully which I assumed was eventually cut through the hillside by the waterway. We hadn't walked far when I had the idea to take a quick drink from the small stream, but for some reason I didn't and resumed my expedition. A few paces farther, my thankfulness for not taking that drink became realized when I recognized a dead animal lying in the water. I shudder even now to think what nastiness would have been consumed had I followed through on the taste of "fresh" spring water. Lesson learned: if you want pure, uncontaminated hydration, you need to go upstream as far as possible. The closer to the source you are, the purer and richer the supply will be.

LIVEGOOD - HELPING YOU STAY MISSION-READY AND CAPABLE

Spiritually speaking, its the same with God's Word. If we are content with obtaining "Truth" as it flows down stream, then we must understand that spiritual contamination by man is inevitable. God tells us this by the instruction to not add to nor take away from His Word. The only reason He would give such a directive is that He knew it would be a real issue. Man always thinks he can improve on what's been provided... "industrial drains" contaminating the pure "River of Life".

The solution? Go upstream! Take it upon yourself and decide to not settle for mixture of life and death. Desire purity and seek it out. Here's a hint on how to get started: dust off that Bible and drink directly from The Source.