Read: Exodus 2:1–10
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. Exodus 2:5–6a
In the Bible there is a connection between water and the salvation of God. God cleansed the world of sin through the story of Noah and the flood. Pharaoh’s daughter drew the infant Moses out of the Nile. Moses, in turn, led the Hebrew people through the Red Sea and away from slavery in Egypt. After forty years in the wilderness, the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River to inherit the Promised Land. John baptized people in the Jordan River to symbolize God’s ability to wash away sins. And we engage in baptism today as a continuation of that symbolic ritual—water and salvation tend to go hand in hand in the Bible. We also know that life itself is fed by water—where there is no water there is no life, and where water exists life abounds. Is it any wonder that human beings are drawn to water as if we have some deep spiritual connection to it? Can it be a surprise that the seaside and the lakeside and the riverbed can feel like very thin places where the Spirit of God and our own spirit mingle? Water has properties that go far beyond its molecular makeup—water is spiritual, sacred, and salvific.
What is your favorite body of water, and why do you think it calls to you?
Lord, we are made of water. The salt content of our bodies is in equal measure to the salt of the seas from which we emerged. Life and water are intrinsically linked. It is no surprise that You use water as a symbol of cleansing, salvation, and new birth. No wonder I sense You in the lapping of waves and the drumming of a rainstorm and the gurgling of a forest brook. Like Moses, continue to draw me up out of the waters of Your creation to new and even more vibrant life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN