Your Jar

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Good Morning, Lord

Verse of the Day: Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Memory of the month:  Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Today's reading: 2 KINGS 17-18 JOHN 3:19-36

Your Jar

Men have many pockets and women carry purses; some men carry brief cases. These are to carry stuff that we need at different times during our days. I suppose it denotes our degree of 'maintenance', as in, high or low maintenance-what we think it takes to keep us going.

A woman came to Jacob's well to get some water at noontime in the town of Sychar in Samaria and a man was sitting there. The Jewish man asked the woman for a drink and it took her by surprise for Samarians were looked down upon by the Jews.

The woman carried a water jar common to most households. This water was used for cleaning around the house and some for drinking, but jars were carried by everyone going to Jacob's well. You had to have a vessel to carry water back home. The jar was a thing of great importance-life could not carry on without the family jar.

Jesus had asked for a drink. Jesus answered the woman's surprise, "You (obviously) do not know what God can give you or who I am or you would have asked me for living water and I would have given it."

Of couse, she did not know. She carried a jar. She lived in a world that depended on such things to sustain life. If you had no jar, or nothing with which to draw water, you would thirst-life could not continue until you got some way to get the water and carry it with you.

Jesus told her that he was the Messiah and that if anyone drank the water He offered, the water of life, they would never thirst again.

"Wait", the woman thought, "If I get this 'living water', I won't need this jar anymore-I won't have to come to this well ever again-all these hardships will be over".

The human thought always goes there, does it not? Looking for a free ride is what most of us do. God will take care of everything. Life is one big care-free picnic. Then trials come and some fall away. Hardship takes a few more-because they have fallen for a cheap gospel.

Jesus went directly to the sin of the woman. The real gospel says we must face our sin in the presence of God and confess. Then Jesus quickly told the woman of worshipping in spirit and truth.

The 'jar-toting' we do for this physical life must continue along with trips to the well and sore feet and backs and shoulders from the burdens. The heartaches from 'hard rain' comes and goes on all of us.

Spirit and truth-God offers this burdened world His freedom to live in His truth by His Spirit in Jesus as life around us continues. In Jesus we have His strength to carry all these jars and live in freedom.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Worshipping in spirit and truth allows us to conform to God's mind-His way of thinking-and not to conform to the world's train of warped thought.

We must carry jars to live in the world, but, our souls, in Jesus, no longer are under the burden of the world.

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

I complain way too much about the weight of the world. Forgive me and let me see how really light Your yoke is in Christ.

Merciful friend and mighty Father,

In the name of Jesus,

Amen