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By: Bill King, Pastor at Lanier Baptist Church in Lanett

 

Have you ever had the privilege of drinking water from a dipper? The water dipper is another one of
those things that has all but disappeared, but when I was growing up, we saw them everywhere. Back
before everyone had running water, we had dug wells. Those wells often had a circular brick or rock wall
around the opening. Some even had a roof over the well and its walls. Usually, a dipper hung from one
of the posts that supported the roof. That dipper may have been fashioned from a long-handled gourd,
or better-to-do families may have had a storebought metal dipper. Each member of the family did not
have their own dipper. One dipper did the job for everybody. Even though you drank as close to the
handle as possible, your sister knew that trick too! Disgusting!

Today’s generation of youth, would have no idea what I’m talking about. They probably wouldn’t drink
from one, even if we did still have them. We probably shouldn’t have either, especially since many of
our elder generation chewed tobacco or dipped snuff. That may have helped perpetuate some of the
pandemics and epidemics of bygone years!

I am a creationist by faith; therefore, I do not believe in human evolution. I do, however, believe in the
evolution of water. Well, actually, not so much the evolution of water itself, but the evolution of how we
drink water. Long before we had dug wells, people drank from creeks, springs, rivers, and lakes. Those
methods too came with a certain amount of trepidation. If you’ve watched many old westerns, you’ve
seen the cowboys or pilgrims traveling across the desert and come upon a body of water. Sometimes
their almost delirious joy at finding water is short lived when they read a sign that reads, “Poison water,”
or they see dead animals lying nearby. Sometimes they didn’t see the sign, only to find out too late that
the water wasn’t safe for consumption. Sometimes the water they’ve seen isn’t even real, but only a
figment of their imagination or a mirage.

I must confess that some of the best water I’ve ever tasted came from a cold, mountain spring. There
are still companies that bottle and sell spring water. Can you imagine our parents, and especially our
grandparents, buying a bottle of water? My dad passed away 50-years ago. He never bought a bottle of
water in his life. He probably never had to pay for water in any shape, form, or fashion until we tapped
into city water, not long before he died. A drink of cold water was one thing that was free for a long
time, even if we did have to drink it from someone else’s dipper! Water is still free in most restaurants,
but not if it comes in a bottle.

I have drunk from springs, creeks, dirty dippers, and probably even nasty glasses, and lived to talk about
it. I must confess, I’ll gladly pay for a clean bottle of water. Growing up, we had a well early on, but we
also had a pump and water lines that carried that water into the house. I was probably about ten when
we tied into city water. We still had a dipper…a tin dipper, hanging by the sink. No, but, thank you!

Jesus talked about “living” water. He promised us that water. I’ve had it, and I can tell you it is the best
I’ve ever tasted. It doesn’t come in a bottle, you don’t have to have a dipper, and the best part is that its
free!