Putting the Right Things In

A teacher stood before his class with a large open-mouthed jar. Next, he put seven or eight rocks into the jar until they reached the top of the jar. “Is the jar full?” he asked. Everyone nods. Then he took pebbles and filled up the jar with the small rocks until they reached the rim. “Is the jar full?” By now, they didn’t answer. So, he poured sand in till it reached the brim of the jar. “Is the jar full?” Some nodded. He proceeded to take a pitcher of water and filled up the jar. What is the lesson in this example? There are many but one is: unless you put the big rocks in first, they never will fit in. What are the “big rocks” in your life? Your fishing or golf games, your next meal, your hobbies, your job, your family, your church or your relationship with the Lord? Many of the big rocks in our lives crowd out what is really important and prevent our lives from “overflowing”. No matter how much we try to stuff in, our lives lack the satisfaction that can only come when the “biggest rock” –the one put in first is our relationship with the Lord. Jesus talked a lot about thirst. He reminded the woman at the well that whoever drinks of well water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I [Jesus] will give him shall never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. (John 4:14). Just a couple of chapters later Jesus stood in the temple and cried out “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink….From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38) Is your life “overflowing” from the Lord filling your life or are you constantly “thirsty”? Jesus is the only one who can quench your thirst. Examine the “rocks” in your “jar” and reprioritize if you want to “overflow”.

Desiring overflow,
Paul Marth