With summer fast approaching, many boat enthusiasts are taking their boats out of hibernation and preparing them for summer fun on local lakes. Last year I purchased a 1973 Thunderbird inboard/outboard boat and I have begun to reupholster the inside of the boat and replace the wheel bearings on the boat trailer. Needless to say, I didn't know what I was getting into.
Recently I took the old boat to Topaz Lake to do a trial run to see if the engine ran OK. At first it seemed to run pretty good and then all of a sudden it began to loose power. I thought it might be a dirty gas filter so, in the middle of the lake I stopped the engine and lifted the engine cover to check out the gas filter. Everything seemed to be OK. I started up the boat over and over again, it seemed to run fine and then it lost power again.
I noticed the engine was getting really hot, so I slowly motored back to the shore. Once I got to the shore, I loaded the boat back on the trailer and headed home, not knowing why it over heated. After talking to a few boat experts, I was informed that the first thing to check out was the impeller. I asked, "What in the world is an impeller?" An impeller is a little fan like gismo that is located in the lower unit of the out-drive which sucks water up into the engine, which in turn, cools the engine. In other words, it's like a water pump on a car. Well, being a "do-it-yourself" type guy, I thought I would take the lower unit apart and check out this "impeller" gismo. Sure enough, the impeller was shot.
You might being thinking, "What in the world does an impeller have to do with a Reflection of the Word article?" Well, Jesus often spoke in parables and He often used word pictures while teaching a lesson or making a point.
In John 4:13-14, Jesus said to a Samaritan woman, "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
The reason my boat was over heating was because the engine did not receive the fresh water it needed springing up and circulating through the engine, keeping it cool.
God's word is the cool fresh water everyone needs. Many people are running hot or running dry, operating without God's word, over heating and burning out.
His word has to continue circulating in our life if we are going to operate the way we where intended to operate.
Is your life over heating? Are you running dry? Let God's word circulate in your life and you will quickly find out that there is a well of living water within you which you can tap into anytime and anyplace. His word will keep you cool even in the hottest of circumstances.
-- Albert Vacek is pastor at Valley Springs Baptist Church.
