Serving God in the Waterfall

Imagine you are a water drop in a meandering creek. You lazily flow downstream together with your water drop buddies. Together, you are “one.”

Suddenly, you speed up and find yourself careening over a cliff. You take a different direction than some of your water drop friends. Some go to the right or left. Some bounce straight up or even backward.

Yet, you are the same “one” that you were a few seconds ago.

We can apply this same analogy to our walk with Jesus.

Jesus prayed for His disciples—including you and me, as His followers.

The Bible tells us He said this in His prayer:

“that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21, NASB)

His desire is that we are united in our faith. He wants us to be in harmony—to be “one.” We are to be united to Him and to each other.

Just as if we are flowing downstream with our water drop buddies.

But we are not exactly the same, are we? Sure, as Christians we hold to the same basic beliefs. Or we should. We should know we are sinners. Jesus is God. He lived a sinless life, died, and was resurrected to pay for the sins of the world.

We are “one” in that way.

But what happens when it’s time for action? Your water drop friends are going in many different directions. We may do the same.

Some will be preachers, some teachers, some encouragers, some givers. Paul talks about this.

“However since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:6-8)

I know it is comfortable when we are one among hundreds or even thousands on a Sunday morning. We sing, pray, and worship together. Attend Discipleship classes as smaller groups. We learn and share together.

Then comes the action. I want God’s Word to be encouragement for you that even though we may serve differently than our fellow Christians, we are one. With Christ and with them.

You may feel lonely in an area of service because often we serve one-on-one with others. Or envious as others get “airtime” and you quietly pray for those in need because that is your gift. You may even, like some water drops, bounce off a rock and go backwards for a moment.

Eventually though, we all make it to the calmer waters at the bottom of the waterfall. We are back together. We can say, “No matter my path, thank you Lord for the experience of loving You.” After all, we do this so others will know God sent Jesus for the world.

Serving God in the Waterfall #hope #joy #writingcommunity Share on X

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.