Water for Life - Pt 2

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:10-18 ESV). I like the fast food restaurants that have self-serve fountain drinks. Or, I should say I like them until the fountains don’t work. You’ve been there I’m sure. You know the taste of having just put ice in your cup and selecting your flavor from the seemingly endless choices, you fill it with fountain soda only to find out that the syrup is gone and your cup is filling with carbonated water instead. Yuk! The sweet taste of soda is hijacked by the salty taste of stale fizz. For me, that moment is less than satisfying. I am beyond disappointment when my cup fills with plain seltzer water. In today’s Scripture, James shares his discontent with Christians who don’t seem to be living up to their identity in Christ. He writes of these Christians, “from the same mouth come blessing and cursing” (v. 10). For James, blessing and cursing should be mutually exclusive. One cannot do them both. In the same way, water can be either fresh or salty, but not both. Our witness to the world is weakened when we spend most of our time judging and cursing. James encourages us to have consistency in the witness of our lives: “peaceable, gentle . . . full of mercy and good fruits” (v. 17). When we consistently pour out the fresh water of our heart in mission to the world, God will reap a “harvest of righteousness” (v. 18). Like the soda fountain, we need to deliver the full flavor of what our appearances would suggest. Often, I have found that churches appear to be able to deliver that kind of refreshment only to be missing the ingredient of God’s grace. That makes for a very unsatisfactory experience. The next time you are called on to speak on behalf of the Gospel, please remember the kind of grace you have been given. God’s grace is always to be full and free. It is to be a word that heals and restores. What kind of water springs forth from the well of your soul?