Photo by, Boby Dimitrov
Once, Jesus was a small, little, wee baby. Yet he was God. Mary and Joseph were small people in a big world of famous Romans, Greeks and Jews. Kings would have looked on them as insignificant. Beneath their notice. But they held the Saviour of the world in their hands.
Jesus' ministry started out small. Two followers of John the Baptist turned to Jesus and asked him where he lived. "Come and see," said Jesus. This was the beginning of a church that would go around the whole world even until this day.
When Ezekiel was in a vision he saw something that was a parable of the growth of Christianity:
The man (God) brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross."
After this, the man (God) showed Ezekiel the result of this living water. Some of these same words are used to describe the city of God in heaven.
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Jesus said our growth as Christians would be small at first, like a shoot coming out of the ground.
He said, "First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. Mark4:28
Water flowing, leaves growing, yeast rising, such are the small steady ways of God. Until a trickle becomes a mighty river and a leaf becomes a tall tree and a lump of dough becomes a loaf of bread.
In this way, we are to become like Jesus. We cannot see ourselves growing; (the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. Mark 4:27) but if we give our lives to him every day, we are growing.
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." Ephesians 4:15
