BE A RIVER, NOT A LAKE
(9-minute read)
Many restaurants offer diners the choice of still or sparkling water. Whether bottled or straight from the tap, we know that reservoirs are the source of drinking water everywhere and we are well-informed about the benefits of drinking water for good health and proper functioning of our bodily systems.
Believers have another type of water that we must consume daily to keep our spirit life hydrated. Jesus first mentioned it in His conversation with a woman at a well in Samaria (John 4:10). ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.’ He was not talking about stagnant and still water but living water. It is not water flavoured to suit our taste preferences but living water that will change our appetite for godly living.
Jesus also taught in John 7:37b-39a, “‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” Note that the source of living water is the Holy Spirit within us who is active and alive – the source of wisdom, revelation and direction for our spiritual well-being.
From the time of our salvation, God has given us the Holy Spirit and our bodies are the host and temple of the Holy Spirit while we are still in a transformative work-in-progress daily (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).. The living water hydrates our desire for the Holy Spirit to rework and rewire us to restore health in every area of our lives. Instead of being mere repositories of all that life throws at us, we will counter-intuitively say to the Holy Spirit, ‘Remove and uproot what needs to go, do what You need to do. When people look at me, let them see in me Jesus, the hope of glory.’
The presence of the living water that Jesus spoke about in our lives can be illustrated by looking at the difference between a river and a lake. Lakes are sizeable bodies of water surrounded by land; there is aquatic life inside but the water has no outflow. Lakes have a self-contained vibrancy and often become sites for human recreation. On the other hand, rivers are created for movement - gushing or meandering – as naturally flowing watercourses that move toward an ocean, sea, lake, or another river. Rivers are not still receptacles because they receive and release water at the same time. Both lakes and rivers are beautiful natural sites but they are very different in that one is at a standstill and the other has flow.
Christians behave like lakes when they hoard God’s blessings to themselves with the belief that a self-contained life is a blessed life. These are people who prefer to stick to communities and habits that give them routine and predictability over growth and change. On the other hand, those who live like active rivers do not try to contain what the Holy Spirit wants to do in their lives. They reject the voice of false Christian humility telling them they are not ready or good enough to be God’s channels because they recognize that all believers are designed to be effective channels for the Holy Spirit to work in and through their lives to touch all humanity. They understand that God alone is perfect, and He does not need to work through perfect channels; only through ready and available ones.
But what does it mean to be ready and available channels for God?
BE THE VOICE
Jesus left us with a standard of compassion and not a standard of comparison. Believers who respond to humanity with compassion take the initiative to be the voice of justice, comfort or encouragement to others, while those who respond with comparison take a back seat of detachment, feeling relieved that they are ‘safe’ as outsiders.
Whether at home or in the community, we can be the voice of change when we speak up about an anti-social behaviour or an unhealthy norm that creates great stress for silent victims who are often powerless to effect any change for themselves. It is the voice that stands up for what is right even if it goes against what everyone else is doing. We may think that it is relationally safer not to talk about our own positive life-changing experience of God’s Living Word, but many people we love and care about are perishing in darkness and we need to be the voice of hope in their self-reliant world.
The Bible has given us a strong mandate to speak and edify each other, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Being the voice for someone is not about saying all the right things, but about being vulnerable and praying together because it brings healing and because “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b). Indeed, the active and living Word of God is a powerful weapon against stress, discouragement and distress when we share it with another - side by side, not screen to screen (Hebrews 4:12). It does not mean that we must only quote Scripture or pray with each other to demonstrate godly compassion and love. The voice of compassion can comfort and strengthen broken hearts for even “the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26b).
There are many people around us – the vulnerable, people in our workplaces, foreign workers in our homes and in society – who cannot speak for themselves. For these, we can be the voice to defend their rights and improve their well-being, even if it means standing up against social norms and cultural inertia (Proverbs 31:8-9).
BE THE HAND
Every culture has its own way of helping each other in practical and concrete ways, so believers have no excuse to stay detached and uninvolved in each other's lives. When you were down, did you think the human kindness that you received from friends was invasive and intruded your need for privacy or were you uplifted by their spontaneous gestures of thoughtfulness? Yet, when it comes to being the hand of kindness to others, we prefer to give them space for privacy and to wait till they ask for our help.
Isaiah 41:13 tells us how God readily extends His hand to us, “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’” This is the promise of God who volunteers to come close in our time of need. It is a hand of commitment and intimacy – two things some of us flee from.
“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18). What does action look like? Technology today enables us to extend our time and resources in ways that were not possible before. People who are rich in love make no excuses for ignoring the obvious needs of those around them because they suffer when someone dear to them is suffering. As believers, we cannot live with our heads in the sand. It is important to educate ourselves about the different needs of people going through different difficulties. With the internet and smart-phones in our hands, we have no excuse to stay uninformed and uninvolved.
Eugene Peterson captured the teaching on biblical faith most eloquently in his translation of James 2:14-17 (MSG), “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?”
These are strong words that remind us not to withhold doing good, any way possible. While it is unrealistic for us to help everyone (and it is unwise to do so), we can certainly get ourselves more involved in helping even one person more often than we like.
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbour, ‘Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you’ - when you already have it with you.” (Proverbs 3:27-28).
BE THE FACE
The Bible says that the Lord Himself was not particularly handsome, yet people were drawn to Him (Isaiah 53:2). There is a beauty in the quality of godly kindness and compassion that reflects Jesus in our demeanour and in our countenance. Practising the Christian faith does not take us out of community and society but puts us back in as the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). We are not an underground city but a city on a hilltop that is visible even from a distance. If people cannot spot us from a crowd of passive bystanders, it should be a call for our self-examination. In other words, whatever our personality type, we have to be the face of children of God, and not habitually hide our identity from people.
Jesus modelled for us a lifestyle that was always initiating conversations, inviting people, and responding to invites. He also spent a lot of time speaking with His disciples because He enjoyed strengthening His relationship with them. Therefore, our relationships cannot be one-sided: we do not stay in touch with people just by responding to them but we need to take some responsibility to also reach out to build healthy connections.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Let us be the people who are the voice, hand and face of love, hope and Christ to others.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 3 August 2024.
