Water is a requirement for survival. Our very existence is dependent on it. We collect it in lakes, store it in towers, and pump it through piping to our homes and offices.
We can send water wherever we want it to go. If we tweak its path, water will follow whatever line we give it, even straight up, if we put it under enough pressure.
Christ is our spiritual water, bringing life to the thirsty. We are the conduits through which he flows. God’s Word is our source of pressure, urging us to become channels of righteousness, to help lift others above the degradations of sin.
Let’s look at six powerful urgings found in Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 5:17 says the old paths of sin are dead. When Christ comes into our lives, he installs all new piping.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 6:14 warns us of possible contamination. The water we carry must remain pure, or it will sicken others into unbelief.
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
1 Corinthians 6:16 reveals one type of sin that’s like channeling water down lead pipes. The lead leaches into the water, and it will eventually kill us.
“Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ ”
1 Corinthians 7:10 wants us to keep our spousal conduits connected. We are a pair, and two are stronger than one.
“To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband.”
1 Corinthians 7:11 shifts a portion of the responsibility to the husband. Broken conduits can be repaired, if we walk in Christ.
“But if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband… The husband should not divorce his wife.”
1 Corinthians 7:12-16 links God’s call upon our lives into a massive network that spreads Jesus unto unbelievers everywhere. We cannot afford to separate anyone from the source of our eternal salvation.
“To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”
Jesus is a requirement for our spiritual survival. Our existence is dependent on him. We are the path he flows through to reach the world. Our conduit is made stronger in the connections we form with other people. Our bond with our spouse is the most intimate we have. We should treasure that which allows Jesus to flow most freely.
Jesus flows through us. Let’s open the taps and let him disperse far and wide.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Originally Published 6-26-16 in Relationships