| Matthew 11:28 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” |
Do you need to avoid the Dead Sea dilemma.
High in the Golan Heights, the rains come and trickle down through various gullies and ravines and drain into the bowl we know as the Sea of Galilee.
It takes this in and churns the fresh water, then begins to empty its overflow into a river—the Jordan. This river that the Israelites crossed to come into the Promised Land, and this river in which John baptized Jesus, flows southward. Many times, it is a raging torrent. Other times it is a stream that can be forded easily.
As it makes its 65-mile trek, it goes from the lush pastureland of the north until it reaches the barrenness of the Negev desert. There, it deposits itself into another body of water: the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is aptly named.
It takes in all it receives. And there, it becomes stagnant.
No one is sure when it formed. Some believe it is the result of the cataclysm the Lord inflicted on the wicked Sodom and Gomorrah.
It is ten times saltier than any ocean. Nothing lives there. No fish. No wildlife. It is barren of life.
Today, two things are true about the Dead Sea.
It is a tourist location because you can naturally float in the water.
But it is also dying. Each year it decreases in depth, and one day it will be nothing more than a dry lakebed.
This is all because it takes and doesn’t give. It never refreshes itself by channeling its water.
It is what happens to us.
God set a pattern for man.
In creation, he established a day of rest just as vital as lifelong committed marriage.
He had a year of jubilee.
Even for Jesus, we read in the Gospels that he “rested.” Even the Son of God knew he could not give what he did not have.
So, look at your own life. Do you need to build the reservoir of your life to have something to give? It is wrong to keep what you have, but equally wrong to not take the time to have something to give. Beware, lest your life become barren as the Dead Sea.
That’s why I am taking time off—so that I can help you more. Can you do the same?
- Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
