They are so similar and yet so different.
The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.
Years ago, on a trip to the Holy Land the differences of those two places could not have seemed starker.
We had spent about a week in Jerusalem, so full of life and of commerce. We’d visited the major sights, getting used to the cultural differences of those who called that city home.
Then, we toured the desolate regions in the south of Israel and were struck by the stark stillness and barrenness around the Dead Sea. The sun seemed somehow hotter and more intense. Everywhere around was deadness.
It had a beauty all its own, but that seemed overwhelmed by the sadness of desolation, the stillness of the lifeless landscape and even the heaviness of the weighty air.
A few days later, our tour bus drove around a bend and we spotted a lovely greenness in the distance. As we approached, we saw the bounty of fruit and vegetable farms, the lushness of the bougainvillea, the refreshing sweet smell of the air. It was warm and welcoming.
What is amazing is that these two seas are really so similar — geographically speaking, that is. Both are below sea level. Both are fed by the Jordan River.
So why does one have so much life and the other only death and destruction?
One takes in and gives out; the other only takes and takes and takes.
God has richly blessed us with the flow of living water. Like the Sea of Galilee, we are invited to drink in as much as we need. And we are asked to live out the lesson of the two seas by pouring out to others the abundance of God’s grace.