A Drought of Love

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)
Isaiah 35:1-4

A full grown tree drinks 200 gallons of water in a region of the country that needs all the water it can get. The simple solutions is to remove trees, right? Unfortunately, the tree is a common nesting ground for the endangered willow flycatcher. Local government is prohibited from removing the trees that drink the water. Unfortunately, when the city of San Angelo dredged the local lake to create a larger place to catch runoff rain water, the sludge held the seedlings of future salt cedars. The workers deposited the gunk along the side of the lake and literally planted seeds of trees that consumed the water.

The water of love can be drained like a Salt Cedar planted beside a lake. When we withhold love from certain neighbors, friends or enemies, the water of love is consumed by the trees of mistrust, hate, and vengeance. In Isaiah, God corrects us with his own purifying love. God uproots the hate, vengeance, and mistrust so that we can be free to love again. Spiritual renewal requires God’s corrective love. Water and love flow when there are no barriers between ourselves and others.

Prayer: Holy God, I confess the deeds that have drained my life of the water of love. Lord, have mercy.