TWO SEAS “SEE” DIFFERENTLY….
In Israel there are two major bodies of water.
One is the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful lake 13 miles long and 7 miles wide,
filled with fish and surrounded by lush foliage. It is Israel’s largest fresh
water lake and absolutely picturesque. The other body of water is the Dead Sea,
50 miles long and 11 miles wide and it’s shoreline is 1300 feet below sea
level. I have been told that seven million tons of water evaporate from the
Dead Sea every day, and the saline or salt content of the water of the Dead Sea
is 10 times saltier than the oceans of the world. The Dead Sea definitely lives
up to its name. No seaweed or plants of any kind live in or around the water.
There are no fish or any kind of swimming, squirming creatures living in or
near the water. And fish accidentally swimming into the waters from one of the
several freshwater streams that feed the sea are instantly killed.
Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are fed
by the Jordan River There is really only one difference between these two
bodies of water, really only one thing that causes the Sea of Galilee to be
beautiful and alive while the Dead Sea is barren and lifeless. The difference
is that the Sea of Galilee takes water from the Jordan River, and then it gives
water. The water simply passes through. As a result, the Sea of Galilee is full
of life and beauty. The Dead Sea, on the other hand, only takes water, but it
gives nothing back, and as a result it sustains no life. Those two bodies of
water bear witness to a truth of human life. It is in receiving and then giving
back that life and hope are sustained. In other words, The Sea of Galilee is a
conduit, The Dead Sea is a container. The first is full of life, the
second is full of death!
To a certain extent people are like the Dead Sea.
Life is not just about getting. Its about giving. We need to be a bit like the
Sea of Galilee. We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect.
But if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love
and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the
water in the Dead Sea. If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in
more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous.
Make sure that in the sea of your old life you
have many out let for love and wealth. Giving is gracious than receiving. Then
you will open the floodgates of happiness and experience the magic of life.
