All Form – No Function

We recently stayed at a guest house that had this sink in the bathroom:

 
Look at it closely.  If you observe carefully, you will notice that there are not faucets that allow water to flow in, nor is there a drain pipe to allow water to flow out.  The bowl itself looks good and, at first glance, seems satisfactory for its purpose or intended use.  But, upon further consideration, it lacks the elements necessary to perform the function for which it was designed.

This illustration reminds me of the words of Titus, who warned that in the last days there would be many who would live lives that were in direct opposition to the instructions for Christian living outlined in the Bible, yet they would have a form of godliness but would deny the power of God to live holy lives.  (2 Titus 3:1-5)  He further admonished followers of Christ to turn away from such.

I must admit that when I first saw this sink, I did not note its imperfections immediately.  It did not take long for me to realize that there was no way for water to flow in, but it wasn’t until I tried to pour fluid into it, that I realized there was no way to properly channel water out.  I was deceived by its form into thinking that it could perform its function.  I know some people like that.  At first glance, they seem to look the part of a Christian.  Some discrepancies to the contrary are easily noted while others become apparent with time. God does not require perfection of His followers, but He does require obedience to His precepts and mandates.  It is not enough to look the part.  We must also live lives of Christian character and conduct.  Otherwise, we deceive ourselves and others into thinking that we are fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives when, in fact, we are not.

As Christians, we must be sure that the living water has entry into our hearts and lives.  We must then be sure that we have an outlet whereby we can let living water flow out through our actions to impact others.  It has been said that the vertical beam of the cross represents God reaching downward to man; whereas, the horizontal beam represents man’s reaching outward to others.  In the same manner, we must allow God to, not only, flow to us but, also, through us.  Only then will we perform the function for which we were designed.