On my list of things I wish I’d learned earlier, this truth hovers near the top. Grace came my way packaged in a church. Congregations and their leaders changed me. But then churches struggled, even divided. Mature men acted less than that. The box ripped, the faucet clogged, and my heart, for a time sank.
Not a moment too soon, I heard the invitation of the still-running fountain. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” God describes himself as “the fountain of living water.” Thank him for the faucets, but don’t trust them to nourish you. Thank him for the boxes in which his gifts come, but don’t fail to open them. And most of all, do not fail to read the note: Dear child of mine. Are you thirsty? Come and drink. I delight in you, and I will never fail you or forsake you!
