A Life-giving Presence

Recently I took a train to Mainz, Germany for a weekend of ministry in Wiesbaden & Heidelberg (great timing since the Icelandic volcano had really stressed the flight schedules).

The train from Koln to Mainz went thru Koblenz and traveled right alongside the famous Rhine River.

This mighty river continues to be both strategic and significant in every way.

The hills are dotted with magnificent castles from another time and the valleys are filled with vineyards and crops.

Because it is beautiful in every season, it is an enduring attraction!

The lush green it produces in the spring, the refreshing cool it provides in summer, the spectacular colors it presents in the fall and the majesty of winter that you can so powerfully see, are all irresistible!

Every expression is amazing in it’s own way!

However, the most obvious thing you notice is that it is a … ‘life-giving presence’.

Everything thrives in the river’s presence … crops, animals, businesses and people!

The Rhine River above all else is a … life-giving presence!

In my case, the Rhine brought me to … life-giving friends as well as a life-giving church … and because of that I felt spiritually refreshed and personally renewed.

I was reminded of what Jesus promised in John 7:38, ‘He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’.

In reality, we are called to be a ‘life-giving presence’!

To allow the ‘river of God’ to flow into us and out from us so that others can feel spiritually refreshed and personally renewed in our presence!

Let the river flow … both the Rhine in all it’s beauty and the river of God in all it’s power!

This is the cry of my heart … let the ‘life-giving presence’ of the river flow!!