Flow!

Flow!

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:38 KJV

The Jews had festivals to remind them of the milestones in their lives. They celebrated these festivals on a yearly basis, but like all things that hang on action without inspiration, it got to a point where it was more about fulfilling righteousness than understanding why God instituted it in the first place. Men kept the festivals, but their lives were daily denials of the God who demanded faithful worship. Where do I stand here: am I like the children of Israel, keeping traditions but without any personal encounter with God?

As usual, the people came into the temple to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a reminder of the wanderings in the desert, where they had to live in booths and temporary shelters until God brought them into the promised land. I wonder what the festival entailed when they knew nothing about the God they had come to worship. Jesus came and with a loud voice, cried out the words of today's extract. What would these words mean to us today? What steps do I need to take today to make my life aligned with God's perfect will? 

The secret is to believe in Jesus. He is not asking for what I do not have, but the most important thing I have: my life. He does not need earth's resources; He created all things and they answer to him. I cannot take of that which God has created and replace him with material things. Where then does the image of water come from? History seems to suggest that there were streams of water that flowed around the temple in Jerusalem, and the priests would go year after year to take the water and pour on the altar. This was a yearly ritual: taking of that which flows outside the temple, bringing it into the temple and pouring it on the altar. This is the picture that the coming of Jesus has come to fulfil. 

No more the annual ritual; no more the taking of water from an earthly source and pouring same on a physical altar in a physical temple. In this new dispensation which Jesus speaks about here, there is a new spring of water, which no human hand can stop, control or limit. The life of God in me is the source of the new spring, and if you cannot stop the life of God in me, you can do nothing about the spring. The spring is deep within the one who believes, and his life becomes an expression of the presence of God. 

Trials and tests, and even the fear of death cannot limit the flow. No need for a mortal man to come and draw out the water; I have become a priest of the Most High, and can offer the sacrifices that please him. My life has become an offering poured out willingly by myself, with total surrender to God the secret to a life of impact. No annual ritual, just a daily life of devotion. No dependence on man or his help; just the outward expression of the inward presence of God. Who am I really? Does the above describe me or you? Remember, eternity is at stake here. God's time of favour is here.