Of Rivers and Lakes

What’s the difference between a LAKE and a RIVER? In general, a river is constantly changing, adapting and moving. A river can carve out great canyons and transport goods downstream. It can create energy. A river is a power source.

A lake is constant and mostly unchanging. We can walk into a lake and out of it at exactly the same spot with no change. Not so with a river. Its flow can thrust us into deeper waters and we cannot exit from the same place we wade into. It is constantly moving. A lake is safe: a river is dangerous.

Today I am thinking about church. Are we more like a lake or are we the mighty river? When we look at God’s Kingdom, we can see that it is a movement. It’s never constant. In the vision of Ezekiel, God’s Kingdom was seen as a mighty river that flows into the valleys and wherever the river flows, there life springs forth.
That’s what church is meant to be: always on the move, changing lives wherever it flows to. In the Great Commission of Christ, we are told to “GO” into all the world to make disciples of all nations. It’s not about a lake. It’s about a river. We are to flow, to go, not just to gather.

A lake does not flow. The tributaries pour water into it and the lake gather and swells, but it doesn’t flow. A river on the other hand, does not gather. It is constantly flowing. Today church is about gathering rather than flowing. Like a lake, we are waiting to receive from other tributaries: hoping that others will come to it. Churches today try to be more relevant to the world so that people may come to us. We major on music, programs, the preacher or the singer so that they would find our church attractive and that they would come. We are missing the point!

Church is not a lake. It’s a river: a movement. God is on the move and we need to get into the river and move with God. We need to GO instead of invite. Every disciple of Christ is an agent of God’s Kingdom. We are to carry the mission of God into every sphere of life. We all are missionaries sent into a non-Christian culture.
God is a seeker: always on the move; always going after the lost. He is the mighty river, not the great lake. The church of Jesus Christ is not sent on a mission by God: God is on a mission and the church is called to join Him. The mission is not the church. It is the mission of God and we are called to be a part of it.

My encouragement today is: jump into the river. Flow with God. Don’t just “serve” on Sundays or weekday services alone. Don’t just gather at the lake. Let every day be a mission day. It could be visiting someone with a need. It could be praying for someone with a need. It could just be helping someone along the way. Look out for opportunities to fulfill God’s mission in our lives. Make your work place the mission field of God which in fact it is. Invite someone over for dinner. Share the love of Christ. It’s not about inviting the lost to church. It’s about introducing Jesus to them.

God is on the move. God is always about rivers, not lakes. Even in heaven, there is a River of Life. Let’s pray daily: pray that God open doors that we can be His agent of change. We are on a mission with God. Once we get into the river, He will take us places that will surprise us. God is a seeker, not a barn builder. Let’s not concern ourselves about building bigger barns. Let’s just be submerged into the river like Ezekiel’s vision and let the Holy Spirit carry us as God’s agents, doing God’s work. Don’t just do nothing. Jump into the river of God. Let the adventure begins today!