Desert

Featured song: Stop This Haulin’ Water, by Cynthia Clawson, from her 1982 album Finest Hour.

At my church, they have been stressing four facets to the Christian life over the past year. These are Worship, Grow, Serve, and Go. All of what we can and need to do as followers of Jesus fits under one of these categories. Church services? Worship. Bible study? Grow. Help at a soup kitchen or pregnancy counseling center, or help with children’s classes at church? Serve. Mission trips, in the U.S. or abroad? Go. I could be missing something, but I think these cover pretty much everything.

The point of “Go” is to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus, to take the message of salvation through His name to those who have not heard it. It is not, however, something that is easy. “Go” and “Serve” both take me out my comfort zone, to a place that makes me have to deal with people I don’t know, maybe people who are unfriendly, or demanding, or “unloveable”. But continuing to live only within my comfort zone, and sharing and interacting with those people, does not accomplish the purposes for which God has prepared me.

Today’s song by Cynthia Clawson illustrates this nicely. A good song to use when contemplating mission trips, either local or global. Bring the message (the water) to those who are parched for it!

See the fields so dry and thirsty
They’re dying from a lack of rain
And here I’m standing in the fountain
Watching them perish, and who’s to blame?

How can they hear without a preacher?
If they’re not shown, how can they see?
I’m gonna go out where they’re hurting.
And stop expecting them to come to me

I’m gonna carry the Water to the desert
Stop this hauling water to the sea
I’m gonna seak out the dry and barren places
The sick ones need the doctor
I’m gonna stop this hauling water to the sea

They search for truth in empty bottles
The world can’t quench their need within
But Jesus is the Living Water.
With just one drink, they’ll never thirst again

I’m gonna carry the Water to the desert
Stop this hauling water to the sea
I’m gonna seak out the dry and barren places
The sick ones need the doctor
I’m gonna stop this hauling water to the sea

Carry the water to the desert
Stop this hauling water to the sea
Carry the water to the desert
Stop this hauling water to the sea

I’m gonna carry the Water to the desert
And stop this hauling water to the sea

You can purchase the entire Finest Hour CD or MP3 files directly from Cynthia Clawson’s web site here.