All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.

Ecclesiastes 1:7

Everything under the sky is constantly moving; time itself knows no rest. The solid earth rolls along like a ball, and even the great sun is just a star following its path around some greater light. The tides move the seas, winds stir the air, and friction wears down the rocks—change and death are everywhere. The sea is not a miser hoarding water; just as one force pulls water in, another lifts it away. People are born only to die; life is full of hurry, worry, and anxiety.

But, friend of the unchanging Jesus, what joy there is in thinking about your eternal inheritance: a sea of bliss that will never run dry, because God himself will pour out endless rivers of joy into it. We look for a lasting city beyond the skies, and we will not be disappointed. The natural world around us can teach us gratitude. Father Ocean is a great receiver, yet also a generous giver. What the rivers bring him, he returns to the earth as clouds and rain.

A person is out of harmony with the universe who takes without giving back. Giving to others is like planting seeds for ourselves. Whoever wisely uses their resources for the Lord will be entrusted with more. Friend of Jesus, are you giving back to Him in proportion to all you’ve received? Much has been given to you—what fruit have you produced? Have you done everything you can? Could you do more? To be selfish is to be wrong.

If the ocean kept all its water for itself, it would bring disaster to humanity. May none of us follow the destructive path of living only for ourselves. Jesus did not please Himself. All fullness lives in Him, and from His fullness we have all received. Oh, for the spirit of Jesus, that from now on we may live not for ourselves, but for Him!