“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13 NIV
I had a dream- a vision of rows and rows of glasses as far as the eye can see. Each one tightly connected to her neighbor. Above each row was another. Glasses neatly stacked so that two supported one.
My Friend would encourage me to step back and see the masterpiece before me. A beautiful multi-colored pyramid. As the Hand encouraged me to look up, I could not contain my wonder.
The gallon sized pitcher seemed small. What was it filled with what I wonder? The liquid was clear. I realized I was quite thirsty as I looked at what appeared to be clear and refreshing water.
All of a sudden, the decanter tilted and the water began to flow. I quickly realized that this was no normal pitcher as I watched the water continuously flow.
I looked at my Friend with concern over the mess that seemed certain. He smiled, encouraging me to keep looking up. Breathing a sigh of relief, I began to notice the beauty of the continuous waterfall as water flowed from glass to glass, right to left, top to bottom.
Suddenly, I heard a commotion as water splashed to my right. A glass broke into thousands of tiny shards.
"Did it stop up?" I questioned.
"No," my Friend answered sadly, "It is closed to the flow."
"Closed?" I asked.
"Yes, you see when the opening to the glass is covered, water can no longer flow. The glass will slowly become dry and brittle." A tear fell from His eye. The tear glistened like the water.
"So what happens to the glass?" I asked.
"Well if it remains covered and doesn’t allow the flow, it will die. The connection between the other glasses will break and the glass will fall away."
As I watched, I began to see a multitude of glasses break. the glass appearing to fall to the ground. But the water continued to flow as the glasses regrouped into formation once again.
My Friend looked at me lovingly and said, "Every season of time has the opportunity for reformation as the next generation steps into their calling. When the glasses reform, new life springs up in the body."
My heart broke as He sadly looked to the broken pieces below. "A moment," I watched as He took a handful of shards, reformed the glass into perfect condition, and then placed it back into formation. The glasses seemed almost happy to have their friend back in the ranks.
My Friend continued to “redeem” one glass after another. Once in position, the flow recommenced within the depths of each glass. I realized I was holding my breath as the liquid filled to 1/2 and then 3/4 ultimately finding its way to the rim and then overflowing once again. The glass had found its place.
My Friend looked at me with a smile and He said, "That one is yours."
"Mine, Sir?"
"Yes Daughter, you see every glass here represents a heart. That one is yours."
Puzzled I asked Him, "What is the liquid?"
"That is Me," He replied.
"You?"
"Yes my beautiful child, I am Love. The liquid you see is my love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. All of the fruits of my Spirit. As long as your heart is open to my flow, I will fill you up to overflowing and the overflow will fill up those around you."
Looking at the beautiful overflow of love, I began to notice pockets of glasses that would repeatedly open and then close.
"What about them?" I asked.
"Every glass you see has a choice to open or close. The glasses you see there are consumers. They fill up to the rim and then close until the water is gone and then they open up again to refill. They don’t understand that the refill comes from the overflow. So their water becomes stagnant and stale as they use it. Whereby the overflow is a fresh refill of all of my fruits."
My heart pondered the masterpiece before me. A beautiful body of hearts working together.
"What happens when the water reaches the bottom?" I asked.
He said, "Oh, that Daughter is the most beautiful part of it all. You see, every heart created has a choice to remain in the open position. Those who choose to close will eventually break and fall. The water that reaches the bottom serves to revive the shards that have broken. And when they choose to return I will meet them where they are and reform them once again."
"What if the water never makes it to the bottom?"
"There will come a day when hearts will grow cold and glasses will stop their flow, He said sadly. Pray that it will not happen in your time. In that day I will gather all of the glasses that are open and take them home."
"Alarmed I asked, what happens to the others?"
"They will forever be dried up and broken- never to know the flow of My love again."
"What can I do, Lord?"
"Remain open to Me. Allow me to fill you up to overflowing Daughter. You love and serve out of the overflow- without it you have nothing to give. But with it you can do all that I have called you to. When all of my children respond in this manner, the body of Christ is a masterpiece to a thirsty world in desperate need of love."
As I looked at the handiwork of our God, I considered the significance of the body of Christ and the importance of the call on my life to love and go. When we keep our eyes on Jesus and our hearts open as vessels of His love, then the world will know how very much they are loved by Him.
How about you, is your heart open?
Father, I lift up the body of Christ to You today. I pray for an awakening of our hearts to open to the constant flow of Your love. Allow us to see Your heart for those who are broken and hurting. Help us Lord to be the vessel that carries Your love to this thirsty world. We thank You for entrusting us with the great and beautiful honor to be vessels of hope.
In Jesus' Name
AMEN