Day 27

“Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live’.”  — EZEKIEL 47:6-9

The first result of the river flowing into the sea is that swarms of living creatures will live and there will be great numbers of fish. There are no fish in the Dead Sea as it is impossible for them to live in the natural condition of the sea. This is a miracle of God, and a portrait of the Christian life. 

God’s purpose is to make us channels of His activity whereby He will raise the dead to life. This is the primary mission of Jesus: “I came that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Man’s deepest need is not to have his sins forgiven, or that he is lost and needs to know where he is going, but that he is dead and needs to come alive! Spiritual death is the absence of God from the human soul. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins...separated from the life of God.” (Ephesians 2:1 & 4:18) 

Those who are lost, confused, and dead in their sin, some having long ago given up hope of finding true meaning to life, will discover in those people who are in Christ the very life of God, Himself. They’ll be given hope that they too might be brought to know Him. Jesus is the life! As people meet Christ in us, their appetites may be awakened to search for Him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.”

The primary means through which the Lord Jesus transmits His life and love is through His people. There are probably few whose experience of finding Christ did not begin with an appetite created in their hearts through seeing the reality of Jesus Christ in other people. However unwittingly on our part, God will do it through us. This is our privilege and our task as Christians. It is also our confident expectation that as we allow Christ to live His life in us, He will pour out through us to the benefit of others, “a river of living water”.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You for using me as a channel to create an appetite in others to know You. It is the only true way to receive life to the full, and I pray, dear Lord, that I will never let You down in this regard. 

TO REFLECT UPON: Have I ever experienced someone wanting to know Jesus because of what they’ve seen in me? What changes do I need to make in my life so that I may be a better vessel for God in leading others to want to know Christ?