Readings for today: Jeremiah 1-2, 2 Thessalonians 2
For generations, my family owned land in western Nebraska. Farmers. Ranchers. Feedlot owners. We managed a fairly significant operation. Over time, the land has been broken up and parceled out. Each generation taking a piece. Children and grandchildren left home and didn’t return. The line of farmers has now died out though we still rent back what we do own to others who work the land in our place. A few years ago, I took my children back to see the land. Back to see the home where their grandparents and great-grandparents grew up. Back to see the cemetery where so much of their family is buried. It was a great trip. Filled with lots of stories. Lots of laughter. A reunion with cousins. A renewed sense of connection to a “place.”
One of the big things I talked to my children about was the availability of water. Access to water is everything in this part of the country. If you don’t have access, you are locked into a crop like dry-land wheat. The yield is poor. The value of the land plummets. It’s incredibly hard to make a living. If you do have access, you can grow crops like corn. The yield is high. The value of the land skyrockets. Making a good living becomes far more feasible. The same is true for the pasture. We have a well system that benefits the herds of cattle that graze there all summer long. Ease of access to water makes for a better beef product in the long-run. Thankfully, our wells go all the way down into the Ogallala Aquifer which is one of the largest in the world. It means we’ll have access to life-giving water decades to come.
One of the striking images from our reading today comes from Jeremiah 2:13, “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Cisterns in the ancient world were holding tanks built at ground level or just below it to capture rain water. While important, they were highly dependent on consistent weather patterns. During seasons of drought, these cisterns ran dry. If they developed a leak, they became useless. In short, they were a poor substitute for a fountain or a natural spring. Human survival depends on having a reliable source for freshwater. Without this supply, humanity suffers and dies. Their crops wither and die. Their herds grow famished and die. I’ve seen the effects firsthand in southern Ethiopia where they have to depend on the annual rains for their water supply. I’ve also seen it firsthand on our own land when wells run dry or break down and water no longer is easily available.
God essentially tells Jeremiah that the same truth holds for the spiritual life. God is like the Ogallala Aquifer. He is a never-ending source of abundant, life-giving water that flows like a spring or fountain. He is more than enough to quench any thirst. More than enough to bring life to an otherwise arid land. More than enough to supply all their needs. Why then do God’s people feel the need to make their own cisterns? Why do they feel the need to provide for their own water supply? Why do they turn to other gods who cannot supply what they need? Cannot bring life to their land? Cannot quench their spiritual thirst?
We face those same questions today. What cisterns are we building as we seek to provide for ourselves? Is it our 401k? Our rainy day fund? Our operational reserve? What happens when our cistern springs a leak? The market crashes. A pandemic strikes. A lockdown ensues. What then? What other gods are we turning to? What priorities are we placing before our Lord and Savior? Is it youth sports? Business? Leisure activity? Sleeping in? When we feel depressed or anxious, what drug do we use to find peace? Is it alcohol? Marijuana? Opioids? When we feel isolated or lonely, to whom do we turn? Pornography? A casual hookup? Friends, we are as guilty as the people of Israel. We have placed our trust in our own strength, our own wisdom, our own power to get us out of the mess we find ourselves in. We place our trust in leaders who are unfaithful. We place our trust in markets that are unstable. We place our trust in a future that is uncertain. When will we learn? The only hope we have is that we belong - body and soul - to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ! He is the only Source of Living Water that will quench our soul’s thirst.
Readings for tomorrow: None