In Ezekiel 47:1-12 a man is described as observing a river flowing from a temple. The man is led on a journey through the waters of the river, which begin by being only as deep as his ankles. As he continues on, the waters become knee deep, then waist deep, and eventually too deep for him to even walk through. At this point the river is up over his head, feet unable to touch the ground, a river he
can not cross. This river describes the life of one who longs to wholeheartedly follow Jesus: fully surrendering everything, continuously repenting, being transformed by His power, and relying solely on the Almighty for guidance and provision. Though some step into faith longing to live for Jesus, they end up clinging to the “stability” and “comfort” of this fleeting world that they have become so accustomed to. Their feet have not fully left the ground. Jesus says in Luke 14:33 that no one can be His disciples unless they surrender everything. As we surrender to the one true Lord and Savior, He begins to change our heart and our life. When we are encompassed by a desire to know and serve Him, then our grip on this world is loosened and we are no longer bound to it. We are left holding onto the one true King with all we have being swept away by His grace and mercy. As one preacher put it: “faith can swim where reason can only wade.”
The man journeying down the river goes on to describe the banks alongside it as flourishing with trees that bear fruit continuously, every month, because the waters from the sanctuary flow to them. In the gospel of John chapter 15, Jesus compares Himself to a vine and His disciples as the branches. “If a man remains in me, and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown in to the fire and burned.”
Are you bearing fruit - living in such a way as to bring the life and light of Jesus to others?
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last.”
Jesus commands in Matthew 28:18: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. The Great Commission was not just for the disciples who were with Jesus in human form but a command to all who call themselves believers and followers of Jesus. We must understand that Jesus does not ask, suggest, or try to convince His disciples to make disciples; He straightforwardly says “Go”…will you go?
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48
