Mastery and Mystery
LYNDI LEE MARKUS Train – Develop – Care | Editor-in-Chief for Upfront To relinquish mastery is to relinquish control. Am I the only one challenged by the thought that my…
My husband and I joined Navigators staff in 1989, and we’ve served with World Missions in Latin America for decades. When we returned to the U.S., I had a burning question: “How do I care for my own soul?” It wasn’t a question of how to have a quiet time or how to pray; it was a longing for something more profound. I knew the pat answers to my question of soul care, and yet I sensed that there was more to enjoy in this life with God.
One day, I read a quote that gripped my heart. It said, “If then you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. A canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, and a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus without loss to itself communicates its superabundant water. In the Church at the present day we have many canals but few reservoirs.” 1
The author, Bernard of Clairvaux, lived in the 12th century, yet his writing resonated as a contemporary observation of today’s Church. And, it also sounded like a description of my life serving God. You know, prepare the Bible study for the women, prepare the students’ study for later that week, make sure the couples’ study is ready… It was a “canal way” of serving God. What would it look like to live a “reservoir life,” serving God out of the overflow of a deep, intimate relationship with the Trinity that swelled with refreshing, life-giving, abundant water? Slowly, God began to answer my heart’s query. He led me to drink from deep springs of living water.
The first spring that leads to “reservoir living” is knowing God experientially. In our modern times, it feels normal for us to engage with God intellectually, even when reading Scripture. Although learning about God is essential, God invites us to know Him in an ever-deepening relationship. The word “to know” in many of our favorite Bible verses refers to experiential, intimate knowledge.2 God invites us to yada/ginosko Him, not just know about Him. We are right to be concerned with sound doctrine. Yet if we reduce our relationship with God to intellectual knowledge, we miss the depths of experiencing a vibrant relationship with Him, which affects not only our walk with God but also the next generation.
A second spring that leads to “reservoir living” is comprehending our belovedness to God. We are the clay, sheep, branches, and servants, yet He also calls us child, friend, and even more, bride. We have an enemy who would like to keep us blind to His great love, no matter how far we are on the spiritual journey. Perhaps this is why Paul prayed that believers would have the power to grasp God’s immense love (Eph. 3:16-19). God’s love is too powerful to remember and too easy to forget, especially for his busy servants. Ponder for a moment: Do I believe in my head and in my heart the simple message that God loves me? Or is it something I tell others yet struggle to believe for myself?
A third rich spring to delight in the reservoir is diving into the writings of our older brothers and sisters in the faith. Reading accounts of how believers have experienced God throughout the centuries adds richness and depth. Jeremiah 6:16 gives us great insight: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” The ancient paths are the good way to find soul rest, yet we often miss them in what C.S. Lewis calls “chronological snobbery.” 3 As we read the writings of our older brothers and sisters in the faith, we step into the deep movement of God’s work across diverse cultures throughout many centuries, and our souls find rest.
Jesus invites His beloved disciples to live the abundant life with Him, and then He causes it to overflow with love in service to others. No matter where you are on the spiritual journey, there is more abundant life to experience as you know Him and know yourself as His beloved; He offers a never-ending spring (John 4:14). May we live and serve Him as overflowing reservoirs, enjoying deep intimacy with God the Father-Son-Spirit.
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