Stewardship
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Updated
July 23, 2007
For
years preachers have used the Dead Sea as an illustration of the importance
of giving back. The have made the point that the Dead Sea receives but has no
outlet to give to and that is what makes it dead. Now it no longer even receives.
We have a new illustration. It seems the Dead Sea really is dying. It is drying
up. According to USA Today, only a major engineering effort will save
the sea from completely drying up. The salt filled lake does not even look like
the lake in our Bible maps. Both Israel and Jordan have been taking water from
the Jordan River to irrigate desert land. This has robbed the lake of its source
of replacement water. So now we have a new illustration. If we do not give of
our resources to the kingdom of God and our local churches they could dry up
and die. Giving and living go together.
_______________
J.
Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati,
OH.