What is the condition of your water jug?

Have you ever been thirsty and you get your mind set on having a drink of cool water? Anyone who knows me knows I would rather drink out of a water bottle. One evening, I was so thirsty and I knew there was one water bottle left.  I went out to the kitchen and picked up the plastic casing which held my thirst quenching gem...only to find it empty. I crumpled the material in my devastated grip and raised it up to the heavens and cried "Why!!!!"

Eli, my 14 year old,  realized the cause of my lament and raised his right hand in victory which held the crystal clear prize and screamed a high pitched "WOOOO!!!"

I went to bed, my heart sorrowful. I rose with the morning sun and sauntered out to the quiet kitchen. The boys were just starting to stir. I moved the coffee pot back towards the wall and What Do My Sleepy Eyes SPY?!!!! A hidden bottle of water. "WOOOO!" I yell at the top of my lungs. Eli comes out of his bedroom and I tauntingly hold the bottle in the air and lay stake to the claim as I put it into the freezer (I like my water chilled). As I waited, we got busy doing other things.

That afternoon, we are replaying the scenario to my husband.  I said "So I put it in the....oh no! " I opened the freezer and pulled out a solid block of ice. As a frown replaced my smile, I had to listen to Eli cry "WOOOO!!!!" I sure felt like the squirrel in the Ice Age movies right about then.

The night before, Eli had the water that  I wanted.  It was a beautiful sight, it made him happy, and I could almost feel the coolness on my lips; I wanted that water. Things get silly like that in our home and that scenario may have been a bit over the top and exaggerated. It's what we do, but now I want to share a paraphrased story and a challenge that we were presented with at a conference this week.

The speaker told about a farmhand who had been working in the hot sun. He had no more water in his jug and asked one of the other men in the field if he could spare any of his own water.  The man spit his wad of chew out so that he could speak clearly. As a bit of drool settled on his chin, he pointed to a nearby tree and said, "My jug of water is over there, you are welcome to it."

The farmhand walked over to the tree. He wiped the sweat from his brow and unscrewed the lid.  As he lifted it up to take a swig, he could see how filthy the water was and that there was actually something growing on the inside of the jug.  He replaced the lid and decided that he wasn't that thirsty after all.

CHALLENGE: As a Christian, how is the condition of your water jug? Are you living your life in a manner that people see your joy and want what you have or are they watching you and deciding, "I'm not that thirsty?" We need to evaluate our hearts and our actions from time to time, maybe even on a daily basis. It should be our desire to hear from people, "I don't know what you have but I want a drink of THAT!"

Have a blessed weekend!
Follow this link to watch the actual video of Claude King telling the parable of the water jug!
http://blog.lifeway.com/growingdisciples/4-video-parables-for-christian-living/#.VrZFMUeF-Ys.facebook