A Pause to Ponder God's Word
"Christians - Containers or Conduits?"

One of the jobs I held as a teenager was a gas station attendant. In those days, all the stations were "full service." A customer never had to exit the car. They would drive in the station, pull up to the pumps driving over the rubber hose that extended out from the station, that when driven over would ring the loud bell announcing their arrival. When that bell sounded, my job was to move quickly out to the car, regardless of weather conditions, and cheerfully say to the customer "Hello! How much and what grade." The majority of the time the customer responded, "fill 'er up with regular." As the tank filled with fuel, I washed the outside of the car windows and inquired if the oil needed to be checked. Once the tank was full, the customer handed me the payment and went on their way.

There are times as a pastor I get the feeling I am still at the gas station. I see people shuffle into the worship service and give me the glance that says, "fill 'er up with regular pastor." They are spiritually depleted and running on empty. They need "spiritually refueling" so they can continue on the holiness highway. They come to worship to "be refueled" so they can make it for a few more miles. They see themselves as containers, spiritual gas tanks. God fills them up with spiritual blessing and grace so they draw upon them as needed.

Unfortunately, their depleted state is not from giving out, but from drawing for themselves. They have missed a crucial truth about being a Christian. Just before entering into a private time of teaching with His disciples, Jesus spoke with a loud voice to the temple crowds, announcing: " If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 12:38) John adds, "By this Jesus meant the Spirit" Whom believers in Jesus receive. We know that the indwelling Spirit of God brings with Him His fruit, spiritual gifts for our gifting, divine power for our empowerment, along with the love, peace and comfort of God. But, we must be careful not to read over a crucial phrase in Jesus' statement - "will flow out of him." You see, Jesus makes it plain right up front, His disciples are not containers, they are conduits!

God does not bless us so that we are blest. He blesses us to make us a blessing. He comforts, not to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters. He gifts us, not so we are gifted, but to enable us to serve. He give us peace to make us peacemakers. He fills is with His grace so that we are purveyors of grace. He pours out His love (the fruit of the Spirit, which evidences itself in relationally; see Galatians 5:22) in our hearts, so that we may purely and honestly love. You get the drift. We are not containers, but conduits. We are filled as the "living water" flows out to others through us. We are not like gas tanks that need to be filled so that we can draw upon the reserve for personal benefit. We are like a pipe line, whose filling is due to the flow through it. Jesus promises, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken togther and running over, will be poured out into your lap." (Luke 6:38) It is in the giving that we are replenished. It is as we minister we are ministered unto. As we are poured out like a fragrant offering we are filled and healed. God's people are conduits, not containers.

Beloved, let us grab a hold of this glorious reality. Let us not dam up the "stream of living water flowing out from us," for doing do only depletes God's resources, not create a reservoir. Only as the stream flows through us, can we experience "life to the full" as Jesus promised. As containers we will drag along always looking for potential fillings, consumed with self and self needs. As conduits we enjoy fresh continual filling as "streams of living water flow out from us."

Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry


A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome. To Subscribe Click Here.
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