Rivers Flow Down
“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.”
1 Peter 1:2 NLT
Ok so yall know I'm a little weird. Since I was little, my parents would call me Stanley’s Big Book of Everything because of my obsession with fun facts (that was a TV show back in my day). I’ve spent countless hours hidden under beds and in bathrooms, reading the encyclopedias I had strategically hidden there. This combination of ADHD and a love for stories has led me down many strange roads of research. I often find myself tripping and falling down rabbit holes of Wikipedia hyperlinks as I read about the state flower that is the primary diet of the bug that is native to the hometown of the mother of the person I was originally looking up. I know it sounds weird but it's so exciting to me. Can I share with you my recent research escapade?
I’ve been studying a branch of hydrology referred to as potamology. Potamology is the study of rivers. Rivers are so cool, man. Some of our most biodiverse ecosystems and prolific civilizations owe their success to rivers. There's so much history and culture around rivers. Battles have been won because of rivers. Economies have thrived because of rivers. People have found freedom and prosperity because of rivers. You’ll notice that many of the major cities found inland are constructed along rivers because rivers bring life. Rivers bring prosperity. Rivers birth fruit. Rivers produce and supply the needs we desire. But there’s something you must understand about rivers. Rivers always flow down.
Rivers follow a top down principle. The life-giving power of rivers always comes from something higher. You have to understand that rivers work because of gravity. As rain falls, ice melts and springs erupt on mountains and other high places, rivers form and flow downward. These sources and tributaries begin to combine and multiply with speed and force as they flow down because it's in the life giving water’s nature to be attracted to low places. As the water gains power and momentum, it moves from places of high altitude to places of low altitude and brings with it the nutrients that make rivers prime, prolific and profitable real estate for thriving ecosystems and economies. Rivers transform what should be desolate, dry, and hopeless into the most fertile and life-giving plaines because they can't help but bring the life from high places into the low places that desperately need them. The most fertile places are only prolific because they’re connected to a higher source. You see where I'm going here? You only have fruit because of your connection to someone higher who has opened the windows of heaven and poured out more than just one blessing. Your life emotionally, relationally, financially, academically, romantically, and occupationally can thrive because of your connection.
But you get that. There's another point that may be harder to grasp. And I only say that because it's been one of the biggest fights throughout religious history. Fruit comes after the connection. It doesn’t cause it. Christianity is the only religion where you are not earning favor with the deity, the deity is earning favor with you. I’m not convincing God to choose, love or provide for me. He is convincing me to let Him. That being said, fruit isn't used in our fight for connection with God. Fruit is the result of God fighting to be connected with you.
I want you to consider our passage today. God knew you, chose you and made you holy. And as a result you have obeyed Him. Let’s call obedience the fruit. We can all agree that following God is a good thing. But the fruit of following God isn't what caused the connection. The Bible says that obedience is a result of connection. Ezekiel 36:26-26 reminds us that God promised to give us the Holy Spirit not because we did the right thing. He freely gives so that we can do the right thing.
We often put the fruit before the root and it shows in our lives, theology, and interactions with others. Like flunking middle school students, we forget our order of operations and continually come out with the wrong conclusion in our life equations. Fruit is the natural reaction to salvation, not the cause of it. If you want fruit for yourself, be connected. If you want others to bear fruit, don’t just shout at them or scare them into it. Help them get connected. Not to you but to God. If you want to live your life better, meditate on your connection and what your identity in Christ really means for your life. You can only bear fruit if you abide in Christ.
This sounds simple but I can tell by our practice that we don't actually believe it. If we actually experienced the transformative power of God for ourselves or actually believed that the same power that saved us would save others, we wouldn’t lead with behavior modification. We'd lead with connection. We wouldn’t expect others to be saved by a method different from what saved us. We wouldn’t expect barren valleys to just bear fruit because we yelled at them and scared them enough. That’s not what worked for you. The Bible says His kindness is what leads us to repentance, not Him arrogantly beating us in an argument, disrespecting us or scaring us. If we remembered that, we would use all of our energy and focus to divert rivers so that the same life giving power that flowed to us can quench their thirst too.
If you want fruit you have to remind yourself of your connection. If your plight for fruit starts with the valley and not the source you're doing it wrong. Rivers flow down not up. Your success will never start with you. If you're simply pushing work ethic or self deprivation as a means to salvation, you will be just as lost as farmers who try to plant vineyards with no water.
The Father knew you, chose you and sent His Spirit long before you even knew you needed a Savior. As a result of this you have experienced a changed life. If you haven’t seen change, I doubt you’ve really considered the depth of His grace and love. When you remember who He is and what that means for you it will change how you go about life. When you are clear on who He is, it will change how you view yourself. And when you are clear on who you’re called to be, it will change how you live, react, and work in this world. Open up and let the river flow. It will give you more peace than you believed was possible. Let the river flow and you will have more joy and zeal for life than you ever imagined. Let God into the intimate places of your life. Give Him the questions, concerns and doubts. And be open enough to let Him reveal Himself. Let the river flow down and just watch how it will turn your life around.
—
I need you to do me a favor. Along with praying for this ministry, I need you to share it with 4 people and help them subscribe. They can subscribe through the subscription link on this website. You can also donate to this ministry through the website or through CashApp, $ThoughtsByPace. Your donations are the reason we have been blessed to reach almost 1,000 people each week with the good news of Jesus. Countless lives have been changed as a result of your shares, prayers, and giving. I can’t thank you enough!
