Years ago, I took a class in real estate. One of the concepts that I remember, vaguely, was the idea of adverse possession, or right of way. It’s not enough to claim the right to use someone else’s property, but you have to be “Open and Notorious” about it. I always thought the idea of being open and notorious sounded funny. It is not enough to say you want to use the property, you have to do something about it.
Growing up we lived in an old house that had once been part of a larger ranch, but was now just an old house on a couple of acres on a hill. Our water came from an old well across the road. The well was about four hundred yards into a neighbor’s field and the water was pumped up a hill to a storage tank. From there the water was piped down the hill across the road and back up to the house.
The first thing my father did when we bought the place was to put in a power pole on the other side of the road with an electric meter on it. From there he ran powerlines down through the field on several poles down to the well. He installed a new pump and built a really cute little pumphouse over it. With all the work he did, there could be no doubt he claimed the rights to the water. He openly claimed the rights and did something to plainly and notoriously show it.
Notorious refers to something that is obvious and well-known.
James 2:14 ,17 “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
I can claim to have faith, believe in Christ, and be saved, but am I showing it? Am I open and notorious about my faith? Do I go to church almost every Sunday and yet my neighbors don’t know I am a Christian? Do my choices of entertainment or past-time, etc. reflect my faith?
It was obvious and well-known that my dad claimed the water. Is it obvious and well-known that I claim Christ?