The Wonder Of Water

 

 The Wonder Of Water

Collin Leong. January 20, 2013

The rain is falling while I begin this blog. What a marvelous God-sent inspiration this is, for I had just decided to pen some thoughts on the subject of 'water' this morning. I’m sitting in an open terrace surrounded by trees and shrubs, which looked so shiny and clean as water droplets gently polish their leaves.

I have always loved to photograph water and water scenery. It’s a challenging trick to capture the dynamics of water – at times I wanted to embrace the serenity and peace of it stillness in a lake, and at other times I wanted to accentuate the flowing of a river or the mighty roar of a waterfall such as the Niagara. But almost always I disappoint myself for failing to convey the true sense when being in the presence of stunning waterscape in my photographs. 

Water as an element is fascinating in itself. It is known as the universal solvent – an essential property for external washing as well as for dissolving essential minerals to nourish our bodies. It’s probably the only substance, when in solid state (ice), is lower in density than when in liquid state. That’s why icebergs float. When lakes are frozen from the top during winter, the layer of floating ice traps the heat below and prevents the remaining water underneath from freezing, thus allowing aquatic life to survive. Otherwise, the whole body of water would freeze solid.

The water cycle, through the process evaporation and condensation sustains the entire eco-system of Earth. And while 70% of the Earth’s surface is water (not to mention underground water reservoirs – Genesis 2:5), water does not exist in any other planets that we know of today.  

However, note that only 1% of earth’s water is suitable for consumption – a reminder for all of us to preserve this precious commodity! Surely, water was designed not only to sustain life but to capture our fascination in all its beauty and mysteries.

Listen to this poetic exaltation on the wonders of water:

“Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,

to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,

to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?

Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?

From whose womb comes the ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

when the waters become hard as stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen?”

(Job 38:25-30)

The Bible also uses water as an important doctrinal symbol and analogy of the Gospel. In many instances water was used to symbolize the Law or the Word of God (the Bible), and occasionally the Holy Spirit as well. The truth of the Word and  the power of the Holy Spirit work in tandem to first bring Salvation to a person’s soul, and then to carry out the process of Sanctification in the person’s life. 

So as I ponder on the images I took and of the nature of water, several similarities to Salvation and Sanctification came to my mind. For example,

(a) Life Giving (Creating).  Man was created as both a physical and spiritual being, designed to have a relationship with God. But because of Sin, we were all born with a dead spirit. Just as water played a vital role in the birth of physical life (Gen 1:20), we need the Holy Spirit to give us a spiritual re-birth in order to experience that relationship again.

“Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.' “ (John 3:5-7)

(b) Solvent (Cleansing). When a person believes and accept the Lord Jesus as his personal savior, it is not just an intellectual activity. A real miracle takes place, in that the his sins are forgiven and washed away as part of the rebirth. This was made possible because of Jesus’ atonement (compensation) for man’s sin through his death on the cross. 

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”                     (Eze 36:25-26)

 “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…”    (Titus 3:5)

(c) Erosion (Cultivating).  Water is soft, but it can cut through the hardest rocks. Rivers slice through mountains to form valleys. Stones and boulders are rounded and smoothen out over many years. The Word and the Spirit do the same thing – they work on new and old believers alike, eroding and chipping away old sinful habits, and making us into smooth stones like the ones David picked up from a brook to slay Goliath, useful for His purpose. This is the tender and continual sanctification (renewal) work of God to make Christ’s disciples more Christ-like. 

The previous verse in Ezekiel continues:

“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws... you will be my people, and I will be your God.  (Eze 36:27-28)

“He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:5)

Some of us, we must admit, are harder than stones and will take more years to cultivate and mature than others, but don’t give up, brothers and sisters, for He will never give up on us!

(d) Quenches and refreshes (Comforting).  An average man can survive 7-8 weeks without food, but only 1-2 weeks without water. Man has a need to quench spiritual thirst as much as physical thirst.  Isaac Newton once said “There is a hole in each man’s heart in the shape of God”. King David put it this way:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”             (Ps 42:1-2)

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land  where there is no water. (Ps 63:1)

And in John’s book, Jesus answered David’s search for comfort, meaning and joy in life:

“ Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14)

 Abiding by the Living Word ensures abundant and joyous life in dry or wet seasons:

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Ps 1:2-3)

May we grumble less and appreciate the wonder of water and its inspiration the next time it pours!