Yesterday we exposed something. A lot of us are saved, but stuck. We know about God, but we're not sure we really know Him.
Today, I want to make it personal.
Ezekiel was a priest living in exile. His people had lost their home, their city, and their temple. And God gives him a vision of a river.
It flows out from under the threshold of the temple. Straight from the presence of God.
A man with a measuring line walks Ezekiel into the water. A thousand cubits, and it's ankle deep. Another thousand, knee deep. Another thousand, waist deep.
Then one more. And now it's "water in which one must swim."
Notice what changes as the water rises. Ezekiel's control.
At the ankles, you're in charge. You can walk wherever you want and turn around anytime.
At the knees, it takes more effort. At the waist, the current starts to push back.
But when you're swimming, the river carries you.
That's the difference. In the shallow end, you set the pace. In the deep, God does.
So let me ask you plainly. How deep are you?
Not how long have you been a Christian. How deep?
Here's what shallow-end Christianity often looks like. And honestly, from the outside, it looks pretty good.
You go to church most Sundays. You give. You pray before meals. You might even have a Bible app with a streak going.
None of that is bad. Some of it is beautiful.
But God fits neatly into your schedule. He gets a slot, not the center.
You pray in a crisis, but rarely just to be with Him.
You read the verse of the day, but you can't remember the last time Scripture read you.
You'd describe God as good, but you'd struggle to describe a time you heard Him.
You know a lot of songs about Him. You spend very little time alone with Him.
That's the shallow end. Close enough to the water to talk about it. Never far enough in to be carried by it.
Jesus said something to the most religious people of His day that should stop us cold.
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."
They had the Scriptures memorized. And they missed the Person the Scriptures were about.
It's possible to study God and avoid Him at the same time.
The Pharisees weren't short on information. They were short on intimacy.
Now, I want to be careful. If you're in a brutal season and getting your feet wet is all you can manage right now, God is not disappointed in you. He meets you at the ankles. He is gentle with the weary.
But for most of us, it isn't exhaustion keeping us shallow. It's comfort.
We've gotten used to a faith that costs us very little and changes us even less.
Hebrews says solid food belongs to those "who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
By reason of use. Depth isn't a personality type. It's a practiced relationship.
Here's the hard truth. Nobody drifts into the deep end. We all drift toward the shore.
And here's the good news. The river in Ezekiel didn't stop flowing just because Ezekiel was standing at his ankles. It kept going.
Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." John tells us He was speaking of the Spirit.
If you belong to Jesus, the river isn't somewhere out there. The Holy Spirit lives in you.
You don't need to find the river. You need to stop standing in the shallowest part of it.
The water is deeper than you've gone. And it's been waiting for you the whole time.
Today's Challenge
On a piece of paper, write four words down the page: Ankles, Knees, Waist, Swimming. Circle where you honestly are. Next to it, write one specific thing that keeps you in the shallow end. Then read John 5:39-40 and spend five minutes talking to Jesus instead of reading about Him. Tell Him exactly where you circled and why.
Prayer
Jesus, I don't want to know the Scriptures and miss You. Forgive me for giving You a slot when You deserve the center. Thank You that Your Spirit is a river in me, not a puddle. Show me honestly where I am, and give me the courage to take the next step into deeper water. In Jesus' name, amen.
Reflection
- If Ezekiel's river measured my walk with God right now, would I be at my ankles, my knees, my waist, or swimming?
- Does God have the center of my life, or just a slot in my schedule?
- When was the last time I spent time with God just to be with Him, not to get something from Him?