Subtitle: Look for a way to pass along a blessing you have received. Search out a tangible way to give what you have been given.
Excerpt: The Dead Sea, with no outflow, symbolizes the spiritual stagnation of hoarding blessings. Sharing blessings, like rivers, is encouraged.
Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Acts 20:35, “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
Background
The Dead Sea is an amazing natural phenomenon. It is a body of water that sits almost 1,400 feet below sea level, located only 50 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea. It is more than 1,200 feet deep, and its water is over 8 times more salty than the ocean. The average rainfall it receives each year is less than 5 inches. Obviously with the high salt content and a name like the Dead Sea, there is no animal or plant life living there. The lack of rainfall and the inflow of mineral deposits from the Jordan River only serve to keep the saline level high and life non-existent. And there is one other factor that may contribute to its being a dead sea. There are no primary outflows. The only way that water leaves the Dead Sea is through evaporation. And when the water evaporates, it leaves behind the salt and every other element that came with it. The normal benefits of the water flowing into the sea are stunted because there is no way for that water to flow on and continue benefitting. The blessings the Dead Sea receives go no further.
Application
Now I see it as no small coincidence that God placed this unique body of water right in the middle of the land His Son once walked. The Son of God, blessed above all others, eternal and all-powerful, left His blessed place beside the Father, and He came to earth to bless us. And we certainly have been blessed beyond measure. Whether it’s financial, or family, or health, or long life, or the beauty of nature, or on and on, His blessings cannot be numbered. And what the Dead Sea reminds us is that we are not the final destination for these blessings. When we hold on to what we get, we immediately start to die on the inside. Maybe not much, and certainly not all at once. But one grain of salt added day after day after blessing after blessing can eventually do a lot of damage. We have received freely to give freely. We have been blessed to bless again. So be a river with your blessings, not a dead sea.
Charge
As we seek Him today, look for a way to pass along a blessing you have received. Search out a tangible way to give what you have been given.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
