We began this year with a flood, and if I may be so bold I pray that the waters come again. Not exactly as they did this fall, filling the basements of buildings and making life inconvenient but I do pray that the river of life comes to touch each of your lives.
In Ezekiel 47 God gives the prophet Ezekiel a vision of a mighty river that flows from a temple. Along its route this river brings healing to stagnant places and life grows along its banks. There is enough water for everyone and the trees along its route produce fruit in every season. This is a vision of the type of abundant life that God has in store for his people and this is the life I dream of for you. It is a life where you find healing and refreshment, a life where you never find yourself dying of thirst and a life where you are bearing fruit in every season. As you leave this place, I urge you to seek this life. Don’t just settle for existence, there is far more to this life than getting by and getting through.
If this abundant life is something that interests you then I perhaps you would consider seeking the Source of this river. In Ezekiel’s vision the source is the temple, the dwelling place of God, as it says in Jeremiah 17:13 The Lord is the spring from which living water flows. So if you want life and not just existence, seek the Source. Don’t just wait around for this river to find its way to you. Put on your walking shoes and begin the journey toward the Source.
When you reach your destination, don’t just camp along the banks of this river of life. Let God lead you into the deep waters. Ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep and then over your head. There are far too many people sitting on the riverbank afraid to dive in to the deep waters. In the days and months and years to come don’t waste your life sitting on the banks, let Jesus lead you into deep places.
So many people, good people, walk on the banks of this Kingdom thing. It is safe there and you can dip your toes in for a bit of refreshment now and then, but you will be bored. And let me be really honest with you, boredom is the real threat to life and life abundant. The slow leak of life, the monotony of staying in known territory, the same thing day in and day out will rob you of truly living.
If in the years to come you find that the Kingdom of God is boring to you then I challenge you to dip in more than your toes. Give till it feels risky; give of your time, your money, your talents, and your life. Love with abandon, maybe even let your heart break because you love the world so much. Dive into the things of God and go so deep that it feels like you are in over your head.
Let Jesus lead you into deep places. He is not leading you there so that you will drown, but so that you will be immersed in His unending supply. And you will never know that supply if you stay along the banks of his Kingdom. Dive into the care for the poor. Go deep into the care of the sick and dying, the hurting and the homeless. Wade in the difficult waters of loving people of every orientation. Haul your cell phone, laptop and ipod into the middle of the river and see if it survives the water, for anything that does not thrive in the river has to go. Get in over your head with God and ask questions for which there are no easy answers. Search deep into Scriptures for there are treasures in the deep. And when you find yourself in over your head, remember to relax because God’s got you.
Seek the Source and dive in deep but don’t stop there. Spend your life inventing ways to bring this water into places that are dying of thirst. We are meant to be the conduit through which the river flows into arid places. Oswald Chambers says it well, “In the Christian faith, it is not what we gain, but what God pours through us that counts.” You have been poured into this year, by friends and family, faculty and staff, books and lectures, preachers and pastors, worship and the Word. Do not keep this to yourself; rather let these living waters flow through you. As it says in John 7:37-38, on the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me, trusts in and relies upon me…drink. As the Scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart, shall flow rivers of living water.”
If you let the gifts of God flow through you, I guarantee all kinds of things will grow along the route of your life, things you never dreamed possible, fruit that will bring nourishment to this world and a life that will brings healing to hurting places. God promises more than just existence, getting by and making it through. God promises an unending supply of life, life and life abundantly. And so this is my prayer for all of you. Seek the Source, dive in deep, and then let the river of life flow through you into this very dry land.
Praying for a flood of living water,
Pastor Judy
Editor's Note: Pastor Judy is doing some traveling and speaking this summer and may not be posting frequently, but look for her regular messages to begin again in the fall.
