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Ezekiel 47, 1-12.
River of God
Let’s step into the middle of this vision and
see
what Ezekiel saw. We see a new temple,with greater glory than the previous. In this chapter we just arrive at the end of the descriptionof the new temple. The most important thing we need to know about it that God’s glory is inthe temple once again. And now we start at the temple but everything happens outside. It’sinteresting that if God is in the house things will going to change outside. God leads outEzekiel and we can follow him in his vision.Let’s
step outside
of the temple. If we step out we find ourselves in a desolate place. Wesee no trees and no life. You would not want to live there. If it was our land it would be painful to see this lifeless desert. It may seem hopeless, but a glimmer of hope appears on thisdry land. It comes from the temple. A small stream flows from under the threshold of thetemple. It goes East through the land. The water is so precious in places like this. Especially afresh, sweet water. If we follow Ezekiel in his vision soon we will
discover 
that this is amiraculous river. It grows without other rivers fall into it. As we walk down near the river after Ezekiel we are challenged to believe the impossible. We are challenged to believe thatGod’s river can do something other rivers cannot. At first God let Ezekiel measure it. Butafter a while it can not be crossed anymore. It’s just too big and too deep. It becomesunmeaserable. It starts from an incredible narrow stream and becomes a huge river. It’s bigger than Ezekiel.
It’s bigger than us.
Whatever this river is it is abundant and we cannotcontrol it. Whatever this is, God gives it generously. To let all the vision sink in Ezekiel isasked: “O Mortal, have you seen this?” He does not have to say anything just believe theunbelievable. We can also ask ourselves: Have you seen this? Have you seen God’s work?Have you recognized what happened when God brought life into the desert? But there ismore…When Ezekiel walks back everything is
changed.
We can see that life springs near theriverbank. Trees grow, fishes swim and the water heals the sea. With God’s river this place isnot a desert anymore. Beauty conquered ugliness, life conquered death.But seeing all these changes of the terrain our suspicion may grow stronger: Is it a real place?Is this a new paradise recreated by God? Or is this the geographical location betweenJerusalem and the Dead-Sea which is transformed into a beautiful oasis? Is it the Heaven the place where all the saints go after they die?
Where
is this temple and where is this desert? Icannot help myself identify this river with the one in Heaven as we can read about it inRevelations. If that is the case we have to imagine heaven in a new way. Have you ever wondered about why is that tree next to the river with all the power to heal nations if everyone is healed and healthy and alright in Heaven? My only explanation is that Heaven or the Kingdom of God exists in the now and affects us and our reality. The river is in the
Kingdom of God
, but the Kingdom of God is closer than we may think. The river of Godflows into our dry, deserted realities just as naturally as a stream flows through the land. Our world is without hope. If it’s without God. But if God is not the God of the dead but theliving, then His Kingdom should surely affect us.I invite you to see
this world through this vision.
We will see that both the outer worldand our inner world in this picture. It is like our inner dryness is mirrored in the world aroundus.
 
First
this land exists in us.
The forsaken dry landscape mirrors our lonely selves. Weknow what it is like being forsaken. We know what it is like to be dead – like this land – andhopeless. We see it in other peoples’ eyes but we also know it from the inside. Just like theSamaritan woman at the well addressed by Jesus.
Longing
for such an intimacy no man cangive. We all long for something. But other people are also dry and have not got enough water for themselves. What others can give us is never enough. We might try it again and again likethat woman tried with her husbands. But we are longing for a spring instead of a well with a bucket. And when we taste God’s living water we change. That’s because the river of God isunlimited. That’s because God can be our intimate friend and a friendship like that changesour other relationships. (Reference here to my marriage and the fact that we cannot be Godfor each other. Cannot be close enough.)I saw a video on YouTube recently which was about Cardboard testimonies. It was at the endof a service when members came to the front and showed on a cardboard what they were like before getting to know Christ. They wrote their sins or their sorrows or their disbeliefs on it.And then they turned the cardboard and showed what they become after becoming followersof Jesus. It was like seeing first a desert and then seeing a beautiful green oasis full of life.We need to experience this healing. We can only bring healing to this world if we are
healed.
We have to be washed in God’s river, drink from the living water in order to showour source of healing – God – to others. The river of God can empower us to go outside and be instruments in God’s hand and heal the wounded, help the poor, set the captives free…The problem is that God’s people sometimes trying to tame this flow and build dams tocontrol the water. Sometimes it is a judgmental attitude which blocks the way to the source of healing. Or sometimes it is just conformity with the “world” while the life-changingdifference disappears. Sometimes Christians slip into their looking for their own convenienceand do not see the connection between their spiritual life and the responsibility for others andtheir environment anymore. If we take seriously that God’s Kingdom is near, we have to letGod’s river overflow. We have to have a
holistic understanding
where our world and theKingdom of God are close to each other. They belong to each other. We need this vision of God’s river to see God’s work in our present reality.That is because
we live in this land
of no water. It is our land. Once we experienced theKingdom of God we are called to
step outside
of the temple and witness God’s work in theworld. You may ask how does this river change our world? If the Kingdom of God and theriver in it are purely spiritual how does it bring water, food and healing to our world? Wemay ask a different question to answer this: who separated the worship of God and allspiritual things from helping the poor, feed the hungry and heal the sick? I think doing this is just as spiritual as reading the Bible, praying, “fishing souls” and so forth.There is a missional community called InnerCHANGE who live intentionally among poor  people. They live out their faith authentically when they step out of their comfort-zones and
“submerge”
themselves into their poor neighborhood to make a difference. Contemplatingtheir work among the poor empowers them spiritually. It makes real changes in them and inthe society.Let us live out this vision by let God’s river flow through us. Let this river make a change inus. Let us accept the healing power of God. And then let us step out to the wilderness to thedesert and be agents of change. Let God’s river overflow and bring life to death, water to thethirsty, food to the hungry, and healing to the sick. Amen.
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