Not for Private Consumption

Image found here

“But the river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won’t wither, the fruit won’t fail. Every month they’ll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:12 The Message)

In the last post, we left Ezekiel possibly scratching his head over the swamps that were left for salt. To his way of thinking, they may have seemed useless. We also saw that the “swamp places” in our own lives, while perhaps not pleasant or inviting, still have an important function in our lives. It is in our “swamps” that a lot of growth and purification happens. It is in our “swamps” that a lot of junk is filtered out of our lives. We need to value those “swamps”.

In today’s verse, Ezekiel comes back to look at the main River of Life. He comes back to look at the part that he saw as vibrant and exciting. What did he see?

image found here

• He saw fruit trees.
• The trees had leaves that wouldn’t wither.
• The trees produced fruit every month without fail.

Why would there be so much abundance? Why so much life. Because the river that flowed from God’s sanctuary, from His presence, flowed to them.

What was the abundance for? Was it simply pretty to look at? No, of course not. Ezekiel tells us two important things about those trees.

• The fruit was for food.
• The leaves were for healing.

So it is with the abundant life that God desires to give to us. When His River of Life touches our lives, we live abundantly. We will produce fruit. We can’t help it, because the River of Life brings life.

Is God’s River of Life flowing through and into your life, producing fruit? Is the fruit God is growing in your life being used to nourish others? Is your life being used to bring healing to others? Or are you mostly just enjoying the fruit for yourself?

The life God gives is not just for our own enjoyment. It is intended to be used for the nourishment and healing of those around us. Let’s not hold back.

Image found here

Time for Reflection

• Ask God to open your eyes and see how He wants you to use the “fruit” and “leaves” He is producing in your life.
• Does He bring someone specific to mind?
• How does He want you reach out to this person who needs nourishment and healing?
• Commit to sharing some of the abundance of the heart that God gives you with the person He brought to mind.

The Touch of Life

image found here

We left Ezekiel following the angel into the deep waters of the River of Life that flowed out of the Temple. In the deep water, he would have been carried along by the current wherever the river went. The angel asks Ezekiel a question.

He said, “Son of man, have you had a good look?

Had the prophet seen what happened the further in and deeper he went into the River of Life? Had Ezekiel already seen what was there to be seen so far?    “Cause hang on, Zeke. You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.”

Then he took me back to the riverbank. While sitting on the bank, I noticed a lot of trees on both sides of the river.

He told me, “This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish—great schools of fish—because the river is turning the salt sea into fresh water. Where the river flows, life abounds. Fishermen will stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore from En-gedi all the way north to En-eglaim, casting their nets. The sea will teem with fish of all kinds, like the fish of the Great Mediterranean. (Ezekiel 47:7-10 The Message)

Abundant Life

The angel led Ezekiel back to the river bank where he could actually stop long enough to look around him. What did the prophet see?

He looked at the river banks. He saw LIFE. Abundant life. Trees flourished wherever he looked. Everything was green and fresh.

He looked at the river itself. He saw LIFE. Abundant life. Fish flourished. Not just a few, but in huge numbers. So many fish that the fishermen were able to work shoulder to shoulder and everyone could catch enough. No shortages where the river flowed.

I find this particular bit of the passage especially interesting.

image found here

“This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh.”

How many of us feel like sometimes we are living in a sea of stagnant water? I’m sure we all have felt like that at some point in time. Perhaps some of us have been existing in those stagnant waters  for quite some time.

The thing I find exciting is that when God’s River of Life touches those stagnant waters, it brings freshness. It brings life. Not just a little life. Abundant life. Life without limit. Life that you could never imagine when in the stagnant water.

Where the river flows, life abounds.

When Life's Not Abundant
Now here’s the thing. God’s River of Life is there and available for all who believe in Him and are trusting in Him. Maybe you don’t feel like you are living in that fresh, abundant place at this point in your life. Why might that be?

I can think of at least two reasons.

1. When we are not experiencing a feeling of abundant life, maybe we are holding a part of ourselves back and not allowing God to touch it.

“No God. That’s mine. I don’t want you to mess with this particular thing in my life. You can touch and bless everything else, but please…just leave this alone.”

2. The second reason…Well, we will look at the second reason in the next post. Just a bit of a clue here. It may not have anything at all to do with us doing something wrong. (Just in case you are thinking I am trying to lay a guilt trip on my readers.)

Time for Reflection

• For now, why not take some time to thank God for ways He is bringing abundant life to you.

• Ask Him to touch areas of your life that are stagnant with His River of Life.

• If there is some area of your life that you have been holing back from Him, why not open that area up to His River of Life today?