The Sprinkler’s Source

As the summer heat made its appearance, the need to provide water for my struggling lawn became quite apparent.   With the desired spray pattern in mind, I positioned a sprinkler to provide much needed relief to a selected area.  From the shade of a tree, I sat envisioning the cool, clear water launching into the air as I listened to the rhythmic sounds of the pulsating sprinkler moving through its operating cycles. But no matter how long I waited, the sprinkler just sat there dry, doing nothing, effectively dead, and of no benefit.  It was fully equipped with all the hardware to perform its function but left to its own devices, abilities, and means, it was useless, merely occupying space on my lawn.  To be fully transparent, the sprinkler packaging needed to include the wording, “water under pressure not included.”   To operate as advertised, the sprinkler was fully dependent upon a source which could provide the water with sufficient pressure to transition it from lifelessness to fulfilling its designed purpose.  A connection must be made – a channel delivering both matter and means that the lawn might be rescued from certain death.  Yeah, I know.  Hook up the hose and turn on the hydrant so the water can get to the dry grass bringing some measure of relief against the blazing summer sun.   

But I realized there was a metaphorical teaching moment emerging which I needed to follow.

The background

As a kid, I played golf with my dad on a 9-hole course near our home in west central Kansas where the fairways were buffalo grass.  Yeah, forget divots in the fairway – think teeth chattering hard dirt.  However, the greens and surrounding fringe were flourishing given the abundant delivery of water.   As we played the round, I remember seeing signs near the greens on each hole which read,

“Do not Drink.  Reclaimed Water”

Juxtaposed with the dry fairways which relied on occasional rains to survive the summer heat, the oasis of lush grass around the fringe and greens met the local golfer’s expectations.  The signs seemed to misrepresent what I observed – clear water, cool to the touch, inspiring an abundant growth which was manicured to perfection.    An early morning golf round afforded the opportunity to witness the power flowing through sprinklers lofting water an impressive distance.  But as a young lad, I failed to understand the deception to my senses.   What was wrong with the water, which by the appearance of the grass seemed quite suitable?  Simply put, I didn’t understand the characteristics of the source.   Only by observing the posted signs was I enlightened to the danger posed by its consumption.   It became clear that it was all about the source – the sprinkler was merely the means.

Impure & Pure

Born into sin, I was connected to the hydrant of the world, spewing forth a message consistent with the water source.   I chased after the temporal pleasures, “indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind” (Eph. 2:3).  It was all about my pursuits, passions, and self-promotion consistent with my assumed position as the god of my life.  My message was tainted, impure, and offered no true hope.  It facilitated destruction, deceptive in its presentation, luring those in my sphere of influence to join in the pursuit of temporary satisfaction ignorant of the consequent eternal damnation.  Refining my skills in this perversion, with great distance did I reach out with tainted water.   There were the signs of my corrupt inner man posted for all to see – but with worldly wisdom guiding a foolish and darkened heart, I denied the testimony of creative truth and relished selfish pursuits (Rom. 1:18-23).

There came a moment in my life when I found pulsating in my inner man a desire for a different source – one providing pure, clean, and refreshing sustenance.  Sensing a call to this new connection, I was compelled to confession and embraced a gift of faith.  I became aware of living water flowing in and through my life – a message which when consumed would cause one to thirst no more (Jn. 4:13-14).  The only true God was performing a work of transformation in my soul.  By God’s full provision, according to his sovereign intentions, in obedience to His call, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I began spraying forth a message of living water according to gifts He included in my design.  The signs of my life had changed from warnings of “reclaimed water” to the proclamation of “living water” inviting all whose eyes could see and ears could hear to partake.  I was all in for Jesus, filled with passion to know Him and to begin discovering what it meant to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in every respect, bearing much fruit (Col 1:10). 

Understanding Reality

But the joy in this new relationship with God was brief as I failed to understand the implications of making a commitment to Jesus Christ.  Juxtaposed with this newly expressed intention to follow Christ was an attack from the enemy.  I became aware of the holiness and righteousness of God – a light which exposed a corrupt character of the flesh bent on worldly passions.  A war broke out in my soul with the leadership of evil forces demanding that I return to the addiction of worldly pleasures.  My immature faith in Christ created a damning conflict with the temptations of my mind desiring to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  I thought by accepting Christ, all these evil desires would subside.  And for a while they did as I was completely preoccupied with studying the Bible, memorizing scripture, and growing in my knowledge of God.  I had an amazing launch into this Christian journey, engines roaring in my passion for Christ.  Boldly witnessing about Jesus to everyone around me including door to door evangelism, I thought I was all in.  But the pause in the evil allurement was nothing more than the enemy strategizing a counterattack on my soul.  Satan was not giving in to my new proclamation of justification through faith in Christ.  The lusts for fleshly pleasures which I knew were not pleasing to God became powerful.  The temptation to succumb to evil desires was overwhelming.  I came into much defeat – the power of sin seemed to crush me.  

It seemed clear that I found myself in a war of “Sources” – a war not of flesh and blood but of spiritual forces.

The Battle

As a point of theological clarity, I understand my assurance of salvation, that I am a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and I am no longer a slave to sin but now a slave to righteousness (Rom. 6:18) by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8).  But experientially I know that the reclaimed water source of indwelling sin is not gone. The enemy is relentless, unwilling to simply accept defeat.   Satan proposes a reconnection to the source of sinful passions, tempting a renewed allegiance to the world system.  Deceptively he suggests the stance for righteousness is a wasted effort, the war is lost, and that I must again consider his promises of worldly provisions if I would but fall down and worship him.  Caving to temptations, listening to the sirens tickling my ears to satisfy those selfish desires, I again experience the pleasure of sin.  Allowing the desires of the flesh to rise up in my mind, I consume and spray forth the reclaimed water of lies. But this act of the flesh is met with righteous conviction emerging through the words of the Apostle John: 

“Do Not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.”

1 John 2:15

My hearts sinks as I reflect on my misguided decisions. I hear the voice of Nathan speaking to David, “You are that man!”   As did the King of Israel, my only recourse is to cry out “I have sinned against the LORD.” In the moments of grief when my traitorous act becomes apparent, I find a strange alliance with the narrative of Paul’s struggle in Romans 7, at times not doing what I want to do and doing what I do not want to do. The great Apostle admits to a struggle with the flesh that brings him to such a declaration of wretchedness even as I experience the same.     

There is a reason this sojourn is considered a war against spiritual forces which seek to diminish, disrupt, and block the declaration of God’s truth – to deprive Him of his due glory and honor.  But lying on the field of failure, I hear the call of God to return to the pursuit of the things above, setting my eyes on the things above (Col. 3:1-3).  I am again reminded of the critical truth that prior to my conversion to faith in Jesus Christ, I did not have the ability to live a life pleasing to God, to satisfy His righteous demands. Defeated, I came to the realization that my only hope was the Father’s rescue through the work of the Son (Col 1:13).  Why then would I assume having been rescued from the domain of darkness that I should again look to my own strength to bring about sanctification?  I am still fully dependent upon the power of God to disconnect from the reclaimed water source of sin and receive the full force of God’s living water pouring in my heart as I am made into the image of Christ. 

For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13

Made New

As a new creature in Christ, I am connected to the source of living water, and yet there remains the “putting to death the deeds of the flesh”, denying self and taking up my cross daily (Luke 9:23), walking in the spirit not in the flesh (Gal 5:16), and seeking first the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33) just to highlight a few.   The sanctification of my soul is God working even as I work.  A deeper dive into the Greek verb behind “putting to death” from Romans 8:13 confirms that by the power of the Holy Spirit we are actively and in an ongoing way putting to death the deeds of the flesh. We are standing against those fleshly desires which are contrary to God’s call to righteousness that we might become more and more like the image of Christ.  Our maturing in Christ is indeed a challenging process necessitating the importance of finding confidence in the amazing gift of faith and strength by the power of His might (Col. 3:11).  God removes the dross – refining by fire – that we might reflect to an ever-greater measure the display of the “surpassing riches of grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: (Eph. 2:7).  The world is in desperate need of God’s living water, and we are to be connected to the holy source that we might spray forth the message of good news in our sphere of influence according to our design.  Out of the mouth proceeds the things of the heart (Matt. 12:34-35) – a life pleasing to God in every respect, bearing fruit in every good work (Col. 1:10).

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”

1 Kings 17:24

The word of encouragement to all the soldiers of Jesus Christ serving on the battlefield is to know that God is at work bringing about His certain victory. We are called to press on in this life pursuing a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. We must grasp the transformative work He is performing in our lives even as we are called to declare the truth of God to a dying world.  What a privilege to share in His sovereign plan on this earthly plane standing unashamed of the gospel truth.  The living water pours forth from the source, flows in our souls, and necessarily bursts forth in a beautiful spray to those around us.  Our responsibility is to be obedient, submissive, and available standing firm by the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s purposes for His glory. Connected to the source of truth, we can deliver a message of hope knowing that those with ears to hear might never thirst again.