Revelation 22:1-2: Rivers of living water.

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” NIV

Eden was well-watered. Here is another echo from the beginning of the Bible story. But reading this caused me to think about the words of Jesus:

‘’If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’’ (John 7:37/38)

Some translations say ‘’rivers’’ rather than ‘’streams’’.

 An old Pentecostal hymn contains this verse: ‘Rivers is thy promise, this shall be our plea; Less than this can never meet our cry for thee. Tired of lukewarm service, and the loss it brings, we would live entirely for eternal things.’

Every Christian today can be a walking foretaste of God’s great future for the universe. Everywhere we go, the river of the Holy Spirit, flowing ultimately from God the Father and the Son, can stream out of us, flooding the world with healing, and feeding it with ‘’fruit’’. This is the out-going nature of the Christian life. It’s natural course takes it beyond ourselves, and our own sense of blessing, to water and refresh every environment we move in.

Note ‘’the throne of God and of the Lamb’’ (1,3). Jesus is fully worthy to share the Father’s throne. Indeed, God and Christ are one (John 10:30).

PRAYER: Lord, please may this be true of my, that I will both be blessed and made a blessing – everywhere I go.