Trickle

Last year there was a slight little noise coming from the water tank behind one of the toilets.  I tolerated it for awhile, ignoring it for a couple weeks.  Then, upon receiving the water bill, I was motivated to fix that little leak.  The "trickle" became real when the water bill was over $30 more than usual!

There are two Biblical examples of this analogy being played out.  One is negative.  In Galatians 5:6, Paul warns the church at Galatia about pride.  He reminds us that pride is both "not good (Paul's words)," contagious, and destructive.  "Your boasting is terrible!  Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?"  Pride starts small, but it eats away at the structure of the church.  Paul says, beware!

Another example of a trickle describes the church in the world.  In Ezekiel 47, a trickle of water leaves the temple, flowing to the Dead Sea.  It begins small, but it quickly expands to a river too vast to cross.  It flows from the temple all the way to the Dead Sea, refreshing and renewing all it touches along the way.

In the Pre-Christian world, where people don't know about Christ, aren't aware of His saving power, and are blind to the Kingdom Jesus is bringing "on earth as it is in heaven," we are that living water.  We are the river from the temple!

I know you are feeling a lot like that trickle, making a little sound and adding just a little water to your world.  But take heart!  You are the "strong and mighty warrior" from Judges 6!  You bear the little child that entered this world through a manger in Bethlehem.  And, you carry the power of the Holy Spirit, who is able to fill the whole world with life-giving sustenance.  Let God's river flow through you!  AMEN