What kind of water are you? A reflection on talents, generosity, and the life God designed you to live.
There is something quietly powerful about water. It sustains life, carves through rock, and travels thousands of miles just to give itself away. And yet, not all water behaves the same way. Some water flows. Some water sits still and slowly begins to stink.
Imagine, for a moment, a conversation between two bodies of water: a river and a pond. They have known each other for years, but their stories could not be more different.
THE RIVER
"You cannot imagine the places I have been! I have wound through valleys, cut through hillsides, and carried life to dry lands. Farmers wake up each morning and thank God for me. Children splash in my waters. Animals come to my banks to drink and be refreshed. I am a blessing to the soil, to the sky, to every living thing that finds me along the way."
THE POND
"I have often wondered how your water never runs dry. Look at me. I have sat in this same place for years. The sun beats down on me every day and evaporates what little I have left. The good things of the world pass me by. Nothing thrives at my shores. I have always feared that if I began to flow, if I gave any of myself away, there would be nothing left of me."
And there it is. The fear that silences so many of us. What if I give and there is nothing left for me?
But here is what the pond did not understand: it is not giving that drains us. It is hoarding that does.
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
John 7:38 (NIV)
Notice the word Jesus chose: rivers. Not a puddle, not a reservoir, not a carefully rationed cup. Rivers. Plural. Overflowing, unstoppable, life-giving rivers. This is God’s design for every one of us: not that we would collect gifts and sit on them, but that we would be a conduit of blessing to everyone around us.
The river does not worry about running dry because it is connected to a source. It draws from the mountains, from the rain, from something far greater than itself, and so it can afford to pour itself out endlessly. That is the secret the pond missed.
My dear reader, are you a pond, or are you a river?
Be honest with yourself. Your answer has the power to change everything.
- Signs you are flowing
- You actively look for ways to bless others
- Your gifts are in motion, serving, creating, and giving
- People are refreshed by your presence
- You trust God to replenish what you pour out
- Signs you are flowing
- You actively look for ways to bless others
- Your gifts are in motion, serving, creating, and giving
- People are refreshed by your presence
- You trust God to replenish what you pour out