He said, “O Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the cistern.”
The difficulty with dogmatic exoteric religion is that it demands that we accept the beliefs and opinions of someone else about spiritual truth, without examining them ourselves. In so doing, many seek the Spirit of God in the broken cistern of creeds, external ritual, dogma, and outer forms; thus, they do not experience the Spirit of God directly.
There are many reasons for this. One that is central is that dogmatic religion offers the security of clear black-and-white answers and provides a clear, codified external structure—if one believes in it and obeys, they will have no other obligation or responsibility. Basically, it is far less challenging than a living spirituality in which one must think for themselves and explore the mysteries, seeking their own spiritual experience. Everything is made simple, defined clearly, and packaged neatly. One really does not have to think or struggle or be spiritually responsible for the development and evolution of one’s soul. This is certainly one of the main reasons individuals are attracted to fundamentalistic doctrines, although perhaps another reason is that many people do not know where else to look and don’t spend much time seeking. In any case, fundamentalism, in many forms, is popular. Unfortunately, it is unlikely to lead to Spirit-connectedness and evolution of the soul to Messianic consciousness. Fundamentalism is an empty cistern, devoid of the living waters of the Spirit and Truth or, at best, holding only a precious little amount of the living waters.
Master Yeshua was not interested in the religions of his day nor in the creation of yet another dogmatic structure, any more than the prophets and apostles of God that came before him or after him. Like all messengers of God, he was a mystic and Spirit-filled person. His sole intention was that others should enter into the mystical experience of unity with God and know themselves Spirit-connected. This was the very essence and heart of his teachings—that the Spirit of God lives in you and that you can experience the indwelling Spirit and so worship God in Spirit and Truth. Life itself is this exact experience when delivered from our preconceptions, preconditions, and expectations. This very moment, we are a part of the Sacred Unity God is. We always have been and always will be part of the Sacred Unity. Everyone and everything in Creation is part of this Sacred Unity, and the Spirit of God dwells in the whole of Creation. At every level of our existence, we are experiencing something of God, though, indeed, God also transcends Creation entirely. The Lord our God is a Living God and every living soul can experience God first-hand.
Here is a prayer for Divine Grace so that all who seek might receive, regardless of the limitations or errors of their seeking. Although the Lord had no interest in the dogmatic religions of his day, he nevertheless prays that Divine Grace might flow through such religions to those whose faith is true so that they might receive the Holy Spirit according to their capacity. Likewise, it is a prayer that more mature souls might recognize the emptiness of outer religious forms and thus seek beyond the forms and inwardly for the Spirit and Truth. What is spoken in this verse, we have discussed at great length previously.