Tag: Kevin Corbin

  • I thirst

    The maker of water had none

    Rocky cliffs and spires rising above a sunlit, grassy hillside under a cloudy blue sky. McAbee fossil beds, Cache Creek, BC

    Years ago, I visited the McAbee Fossil Beds for a fossil dig. The beds used to be open to the public for supervised digs.  The beds lie high atop a ridge in desert-like conditions, in what was an ancient lakebed, near Cache Creek, BC. It was in the heat of the summer. I walked up the long trail from the valley floor, dug for a couple of hours, and came down laden with fish and plant fossils. I hadn’t taken enough water, and by the time I reached where Kathy and the dog were resting comfortably in the shade, I was parched. I was so thirsty it felt like I hadn’t had a drink of water in days. That cold bottle of water was so good.

    A slab of tan stone holding dark fossil impressions of a fern-like sprig, two broad leaves, and part of a third leaf. From McAbee Fossil Beds Cache CRrek BC

    Thirst is one of those sensations the body is designed to pay attention to. Sufficient water is vital to our health in every way. Looking at a picture of the beds recently, I recalled that thirst, and it brought to mind a familiar Bible Passage.

    Jesus has been crucified, and John is recounting the last painful moments of our Lord on the cross.

    After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-20 ESV

    John says this was to fulfill Scripture. Most will turn to the Psalms to see the prophecy.

    They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Psalm 69:2 1 ESV

    John also hints at something else. The Romans gave him a drink on a hyssop branch. During the first Passover, they painted the lintels with blood using hyssop to appeal for protection (see Exodus 12:22).

    The man who was thirsty made every bit of water that ever existed, yet He had none on the day He died for us. He made it possible for us to thirst no more. Jesus told the woman at the well… 

    “…everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14-24 ESV

    The next time you are thirsty, pause to remember the one who died to give us the living water.

    Praise His name

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    On the cross, the One who made all water cried, “I thirst,” so we could thirst no more. The next time you are thirsty, pause to remember the One who died to give us living water.

    TAKEAWAY

    When Jesus said “I thirst,” He fulfilled Scripture. The hyssop branch that carried the sour wine points back to the hyssop used to paint the Passover blood.

    The One who made every bit of water that ever existed had none on the day He died for us.

    Whoever drinks the water Jesus gives will never be thirsty again. Let your next thirst remind you of Him.

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  • Love One Another, Even When We Disagree 

    Perhaps the hardest commandment of them all

    Two bowls of potato salad side by side on a white-covered potluck table, one in a glass bowl dusted with paprika and one in a plastic container topped with chopped egg, surrounded by a casserole, a vegetable tray, cornbread, a slow cooker, and stacks of paper plates and napkins.

    The woman in my Aquafit class asked me a simple question: “What religion are you?” I told her I was a Christian. She gave me a puzzled look. “No. I mean, are you like a Baptist, or Anglican, one of those weird ones where people fall on the floor or what?” I should have gone with my usual answer: I’m a Christian in the Baptist tradition. It tends to answer that sort of question better for some people.

    We won’t touch the idea that Christianity isn’t a religion but a relationship today, but she had a point. People often see the church as a diverse group of competing religions, known more for what we are against than what we stand for. We can be seen as harsh, unloving and bigoted. Not a pretty picture and nothing like Jesus looked like.

    Despite our differences and faults, there is only one true Church. That doesn’t seem to stop us from diving over theological, geographic and ethnic/national lines. We argue about key doctrines, minor differences in practice and the color of the walls or carpet. We disagree on music, how the pastor should dress and church government. Should we belong to a denomination, be non-denominational, or start our own denomination? Should we ordain those in ministry, and if so, how and who?

    Which Bible translation is “really” God’s Word? Churches split over the COVID vaccine. I know of a church that burned out pastor after pastor for 40 years because, way back when, two church leaders’ wives both brought potato salad to a potluck.

    Now, there are plenty of legitimate differences, some even worth dividing over, but Jesus never commanded us to be known for the things we differ over or our hatred of certain people groups or sins. Sometimes the church’s actions must cause the Lord incredible heartache.

    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

    For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 1 John 3:11 ESV

    Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 ESV

    We all know the way we are called to act, but our flesh gets in the way, and we become poor ambassadors of Christ. We can’t always agree, nor should we, but we can handle the disagreements in love.

    Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15 -16 ESV

    We can’t live this way under our own power; we need the Holy Spirit’s help. We need to remember how Christ loves us and forgives us. We need to recall His mercy and grace, even when we have been at our worst.

    We have been given two wonderful places to practice. These are the Sunday morning gathering and our own families. We have plenty of opportunities to both give and receive grace and forgiveness. We also have opportunities to love the unlovable (and sometimes we are the unlovable).

    We are never going to get it right 100% of the time, but we can be forgiven for our mistakes. Let’s remember who we are and are called to be in Christ. Let’s make a conscious effort to start loving one another today. I know I could do better. How about you?

    SUMMARY

    We won’t always agree, but Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us start loving one another today, beginning at church and at home.

    TAKEAWAY

    Jesus never told us to be known for what we differ over or who we oppose. He said all people would know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35).

    Some differences are legitimate, and some are even worth dividing over, but we can still speak the truth in love and handle our disagreements in a way that builds up the body.

    We can’t love like this in our own strength. We need the Holy Spirit’s help and a fresh memory of Christ’s mercy toward us, and Sunday mornings and our own families are where we get to practice.

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