Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Environment: To Till and To Keep

 Revelation 22:1-5

“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.”

On a recent trip to Sindhupalchowk district, the epicenter of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, the Bagmati river - whose source of water from the mighty Himalayas- revered by Buddhists and Hindus to be the source of life, can also be seen to wreck destruction to the lives and properties of the people living along the banks of the river. Far away when shrubs and trees break out of the rocks on the dry and deserted Petra Mountains in Jordan, it too shows water as the source of life. In the book of Revelation chapter 22 verse 1, John says “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.” Both the Old and the New Testament often narrate water as a powerful expression of hope, peace, faith, liberation, abundance, destruction, and salvation. This expression is true in every major culture, civilization, and religion. The river here calls to mind the river in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10) as well as to the prophetic reference to water flowing from the temple in Ezekiel 47. The source of water is from the throne of God and of the Lamb signifying the eternal life that goes abundantly to his people. In John chapter 4, in his conversation with the Samaritan woman Jesus compares himself to the spring of living water that gives eternal life, where no one will thirst anymore.
In Revelation, the verses continue to say that the water flows 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.  3  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  4  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  5  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Here the streets of the city in many ways simplify the public square where multitudes of people carry on with their daily lives and stand before the Throne of God bathed in the living water as He moves in their midst, enjoying the refreshment of the Holy Spirit. The Tree of Life, that is full of leaves, and always bears fruit is a sign of abundant and everlasting life, first mentioned in Genesis at the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve may eat freely until they fall into sin and death, while in Revelation now with all things restored, and with the new heaven and earth, there is eternal life, and the curse of sin is taken away.

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for being our living water in whom I have eternal life and who satisfies all those who thirst. Amen
 

Thought for the Day

It is one thing for the living water to descend from Christ into the heart, and another thing how--when it has descended--it moves the heart to worship.


Dr. Dennis Cherian
Mar Thoma Church of Greater Washington

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