The River That Never Runs Dry

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22,23 ESV.

Salmon River, Idaho 2024

Indeed, His love never ceases; it is like a never-ending river. I t flows forever.  Every river’s flow gets smaller during a time of little rain, but the love of God never changes; it is always full force.  A river gives me a vivid picture of the flow of the love of our God. It flows by me no matter what I do. The volume of the flow is not dependent upon God, but it is dependent upon me and how much I am willing to receive the love of God.  I can stand by the side and just dip my feet into the flow, or I can jump in until the flow covers me completely. The flow hasn’t changed, but my actions are the deciding factor that determines the blessing of His love.

 As rivers flow, they sometimes form pools where the water moves slowly. Sometimes they flow at a steady pace that has a force behind it, and sometimes they flow in as a torrent that carries everything along by its overwhelming force.  We can step into a pool and be immersed and feel the water all around us.  We can even go under the water and feel its presence everywhere in our bodies. We can do that with God’s love and luxuriate within it. We can step into the river when the flow is steady and experience His love as a constant presence, a pleasant sensation of feeling the movement of His love. We can even step into the torrent of God’s love as it races along and be carried with it into new adventures with Him. How will you feel His love today?

 There are those who are unaware of this wonderful flow; they have never heard the Gospel. It is our joy and responsibility to make them aware of the love that God has for them, and we can do that by word or deed. We can make them aware of His love through our deeds, and our amount of His love is not lessened, but is increased because our sharing is our one step deeper into the flow. Our deeds may share the love, but the words of God’s love must be spoken in order to invite them to jump in and experience the full extent of Jesus’ sacrifice.

 There are those who are aware of God’s love but choose not to receive it. It is our joy and responsibility to share His love for them also, by our deeds until they are drawn to Him by our actions and attitude. Then we can speak the words of His love. This can be a difficult, uncomfortable, or even dangerous undertaking.  But in the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples in Matthew 28:19, we are told, “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples; baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (GNT). Jesus didn’t say that it would be easy, He just told us to do it. 

 Let us obey the Great Commission. We usually think of obedience to this Commission by speaking personally to someone about Jesus Christ. There are other ways—speaking to groups, sharing your written thoughts, and contributing financially to those who go into the mission field. In any way we can, let us fulfill this final command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 So jump into the river of God’s love with me and enjoy swimming with the multitude who have accepted his love.