The early 20th century tent-revivalist Billy Sunday once said:
“The only way to keep a broken vessel full is to keep it always under the tap.”
The truth is that we’re all broken. Or, at the very least, chipped and cracked. In order for our lives to remain full of what matters most, we need to stand in the stream as often as possible, for as long as possible, allowing the fountain of God’s presence to fill us to overflowing.
This applies to your devotional life, to be sure. It applies to countless others areas as well.
Consider some of the ways we keep our vessel full each day:
• Seeking the company of those who build you up, rather than those who tear you down.
• Listening to uplifting music — or a sermon — rather than an angry online rant.
• Spending time in the Word before turning to your newsfeed.
• Speaking to others in a way that edifies, rather than seeking to criticize.
• Watching films and videos that offer a message of hope, rather than despair.
Our many chips and cracks ensure that we need to be filled again and again, throughout the day, day-after-day-after- day. It won’t happen by accident. To be filled, we need to take the intentional step to position ourselves beneath the tap in every way we can.
In his prayer for the church in Ephesus, he asked that they would “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19)
Today we can say this prayer for ourselves. And we can strive to answer it for others.
