Two Seas
There are two seas in Palestine. One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its
banks. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its healing
waters.
Along its shores the children play, as children played when He was there. He loved it. He could
look across its silver surface when He spoke His parables. And on a rolling plain not far away He
fed five thousand people.
The River Jordan makes this sea with sparkling water from the hills. So it laughs in the
sunshine. And men build their houses near to it, and birds their nests; and every kind of life is
happier because it is there.
The River Jordan flows on south into another sea.
Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children's laughter. Travelers
choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its water, and neither
man nor beast nor fowl will drink.
What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor seas? Not the river Jordan. It empties the
same good water into both. Not the soil in which they lie not the country about.
This is the difference. The Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop
that flows into it another drop flows out. The giving and receiving go on in equal measure.
The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any
generous impulse. Every drop it gets, it keeps.
The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea gives nothing. It is named The Dead.
There are two kinds of people in the world. There are two seas in Palestine.
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