The Dead Sea
…give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over … (Luke 6:38).
Our group was just there – twenty-eight of us enjoying this amazing part of Middle East geography. And the name says it all: it is a sea that is dead. It is beautiful. But the salt content is so high (30%), virtually all life is choked out from the intensity of the saline. From the sparkling clear, deep, and pure waters of the Sea of Galilee in the north, the Jordan River empties into this fascinating topographical wonder. Since the Dead Sea is almost fourteen hundred feet below sea level and is surrounded by desert and high plateaus, the water is left in what amounts to a giant puddle thirty-four miles long and between eleven miles at it’s widest to two miles at its narrowest. It is also fourteen-hundred feet deep.
Because of the unique conditions of this location, the only thing left for the water gathering here to do is evaporate. Further, high temperatures and exceptionally low humidity create the conditions for an evaporation rate that is one of the most rapid in the world. For the water, the result is, literally, a dead end.
The amazing geographic and topographic anomaly of the Dead Sea offers us an insight into what it is that God seems to be hoping for us. God has created us to be channels of blessing, not dead ends for grace. What we receive we are to pass on, not hold to ourselves. The Dead Sea is an apt metaphor for the dangers of spiritual hording. Without an outlet to allow the water to flow to the sea, this most essential element has no alternative but to evaporate, rising through the atmosphere back to where it began. This substance from God returns untapped, unused, and unfulfilled. Beware of this danger in your own life today. Share your blessings.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY: Use me today, Lord. Allow me to fulfill my potential. Let me pass along the blessings that you so abundantly give to me. Give me the recognition and the thankful heart I need for my own spiritual strength. And allow me the gift of generosity – help me to convey a sense of your blessing with a gladness that is both genuine and contagious.
