Hi, all! 

“Reclaimed Water. Do Not Drink.” That’s what the little sign said. I’ll focus on the word “reclaimed” first. I would naturally assume that something must initially be claimed before it can be reclaimed. But I guess that’s beside the point here.

As Jesus shed His blood on the cross of Calvary and redeemed our sinful souls, He then reclaimed us as His own. We were given the divine privilege of accepting His gracious gift and taking on the name of Christ as a blood-bought born-again Christian. We have been reclaimed by the One Who created us and claimed us in the beginning. So, in that sense, being reclaimed is indeed a wonderful thing.

Reclaimed water, I can only imagine, means that the water that was once “claimed” became dirty, perhaps unusable in its natural state, and was cleaned, or basically recycled in order to become reclaimed.

What makes this little sign even stranger is the place where I found it. This small, probably 2-inch by 3-inch, red sticker was attached to the top of the tank of the toilet in a hotel bathroom somewhere between Phoenix, Arizona and the Grand Canyon.

I understand that water goes through purification processing and can indeed become once again useable. What I cannot wrap my head around is why on earth the words “Do Not Drink” had to be added here to a sticker on a toilet tank! The world is full of these and so many other utterly ridiculous things that leave our heads spinning. We can’t help but wonder if there are folks walking among us who were the reason such a sign had to be printed. And apparently, they are there.

I can’t help but think that the Lord looks at His people and wonders the very same things. And yet, here we wander, the very reason He had to voice those words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” We roam this earth with the need to be told how not to live. Thankfully, His Word is full of many similar statements for His wandering and wondering people. “Don’t drink from the foolishness of this world. Drink from the Living Water instead!”  

Thank God we have been reclaimed!  Drink up that thought this week! Share with others how the Living Water can make them clean!

Just a thought. 

’Til later.

Brad Campbell can be reached at mastah.pastah@yahoo.com.