Back in the eighties and nineties, my wife and I used to go down to the Imperial Valley on a monthly basis to support the gospel ministry of a Mission Church.  We frequently crossed over the border from the United States into Mexicali, Mexico, to visit the Chinese families there. At the same time, we did a lot of visitation in the cities of El Centro and Calexico. Some of the Chinese were in the farming industry. They hired Mexican workers to grow vegetables. We once visited a farmer who grew lotus roots. He claimed that his company was the biggest supplier of lotus roots in the whole United States. If you know something about agriculture, you would know right away that, in order to grow lotus, you must have plenty of water. Interestingly, the Imperial Valley is well-known for its extremely hot and dry weather. In the summer time, temperatures can go well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It was reported that the highest temperature ever recorded was 121 degrees F., on July 28, 1995. The Imperial Valley is like a desert. Over a period of 85 years, the average annual rainfall is 2.93 inches. Now you may wonder, how in the world can farmers get all that water to irrigate their crops? It turns out that the government has built many aqueducts to bring in the fresh water that originates from the Colorado River. It is absolutely amazing to see these green acres of vegetation in such a hot and dreary land. As I ponder upon this phenomenon, I can’t help but remember what our Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)  Jesus is using water to refer to the Holy Spirit whom He sends to dwell in our heart. How can we live a fruitful Christian life? “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zec. 4:6)

早在八零年代和九零年代, 我和師母每個月都下去帝皇谷支持那邊一間教會的福音事工. 我們經常會越過美國邊界, 進去墨西哥的墨西加利市去探訪中國人的家庭. 同時我們也經常在美國這邊的愛山途市和加利西哥市探訪. 有些華人是發展農業的, 他們僱用墨西哥工人來種菜. 有一次我們參觀一位李先生的農場. 他是種蓮藕的. 他聲稱他的公司是全美國最大的蓮藕批發公司. 假使你對農務有點認識, 你馬上就知道, 如果要種蓮藕, 你必需要有很多的水才種得到.  有趣的是, 眾所周知, 帝皇谷的天氣既炎熱又乾燥; 在夏季, 溫度經常超過華氏一百度. 根據報導, 有史以來, 那地方於1995年七月二十八日創下了華氏121度最高的氣溫記錄. 帝皇谷就像一個沙漠, 八十五年以來, 平均每年的降雨量是2.93英吋. 你大概會問, 究竟這些農民往哪裡去找這麽多的水來澆灌他們的莊稼呢? 原來政府建造了許多的引水道, 把發源於科羅拉多河的水流引進來. 在這樣的一塊炎熱和荒蕪的土地上能夠看見一畝一畝綠油油的莊稼, 真是令人驚嘆不已! 當我思考這個現象的時候, 很自然就想到主耶穌在井旁對撒瑪利亞婦人所說的話: “人若喝我所賜的水, 就永遠不渴; 我所賜的水, 要在他裡頭成為泉源, 直湧到永生.” (約4:14). 耶穌用水來比喻祂所差來住在我們心中的聖靈. 我們怎樣才可以有一個滿結果子的基督徒生命呢? “萬軍之耶和華說: ‘不是倚靠勢力, 不是倚靠才能, 乃是倚靠我的靈方能成事.’” (亞4:6)