Dear Friends,
I just had this mind boggling thought recently - but before getting there I'd like to set the back drop first. I grew up in a locality in Secunderabad where there was plenty of open land and loads and loads of trees. This gated community consisted of only 12 families of whom at-least one person worked in the near by Railway hospital. We played cricket daily, used to fly kites (pharni ka pathang), Jump walls, build kennels, fight etc etc. There was one Tea Stall on the entrance of the colony.The items on the menu were the same daily - Tea-Samosa-Bun-Target wafers etc. Water was for free though. As time passed by we grew up moved on in life. Recently I had been to a hotel in Secuncerabad to buy a water bottle (nothing wrong in buying a water bottle though) - soon this thought dawned on me, as a kid growing up in a closed community within the walls of this gated community, playing around in this place, whenever we felt thirsty we just randomly went to the nearby house and asked for water and people were more than delighted to give us some water in a vessel (Chambu/gada). We'd drink it fully and move on to the next activity. What this did was - it helped us build an effective relationship with
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| Chambu |
the new families in our community. But these days I hardy Knock some door and ask water unless I am in a village or a remote location, cut off from conventional (rather unconventional) living. These days I buy water bottles - its all that commercial, that even when you buy water people don't even give a smile. Whereas when you randomly pick one house and ask them for water they'd give you with tons of smiles :) on their face that tooooo for fereeeeeeee.
This may not only fills your physical thirst but GOD can you use to fill their spiritual thirst or to strike a long lasting relationship with your neighbor (Just as Christ told Love your neighbor as yourself). We stay in concrete jungles - were each house is just centimeters away from the other. But our hearts are miles apart. We only meet inside the lift (at 9 in the morning) or in the parking lot. Earlier houses were far but people were close today its the opposite. Just answer this simple question - Where does your best friend/close friend live (usually it is 15 or 20 KM away). That answers all - we need to tap in to our community our neighbors this is our mission field. Our mission field is not in ASSAM or UP. Its in our dailies as Mother Teresa often told. Lets build that relationship with our neighbors - next time don't buy water bottles just randomly walk in to any of the houses nearby and ask for water. I bet you - you'd have better service than a 5 star hotel. Giving water is pretty significant in all the world views. Muslims believe in Hospitality - Sikhs believe in tremendous Hospitality - as a famous saying goes in Hinduism, "give water to your enemies". Jesus tells - "even you give a glass of water - He's bless you". I have decided to go knocking in the neighborhood for water instead of just buying some water to quench my thirst.
Finally I'd leave it on this - In the Bible "Water" is a metaphor for the the Holy Spirit.
Kind Regards
Jossey
