Plain and ordinary means

My daughter's commencement was on Saturday. It was a hot and sunny day, so everyone probably felt like something the cat dragged in from the swamp by the time it was all over. I especially felt for the students and the faculty who had to endure being baked in their black caps and gowns. I brought water with me, but one plastic bottle was not enough. When the ceremony finally ended (everyone walked,) I was able to refill the bottle at a water fountain. The cold liquid was so refreshing. A fancier beverage would not have been able to quench my thirst or rehydrate my body like plain, ordinary water.

The next day, we were in church. The Sunday school lesson covered the latter part of the Lord's prayer. A young sister publicly professed her faith in Christ and was baptized. The sermon was on God the Holy Spirit who ordered creation but new creation as well. Then we had the Lord's supper. There were no celebrity preachers present. Nothing flashy happened but the plain and ordinary means of grace that quenches our thirst for God and His truth.

As I sat in the pew being refreshed by the Lord, I considered how He has composed our bodies such that we need simple, ordinary water to sustain physical life. He has also fashioned us spiritually such that we need His word preached, read, sung, and demonstrated in visible signs like baptism and the Lord's supper.  And He is faithful to give us exactly what we need.

Photo credit: By Jorge Barrios [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons