A River Runs Through It

Revelation 22:1 – And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (NKJV)

On the week before Labour Day my wife and I took a short vacation to southern British Columbia. We spent several days in the Okanagan Valley, where the fruit was ripening on the trees, and we were able to pick it fresh. The Okanagan River runs all through that valley. Sometimes it is wide and forms lakes, and at other times it is quite narrow.

Especially at Osoyoos, where we first met up with the river, we could see that it was a river of life. On one side of the river, it was desert. Across the river, there were lush orchards and vineyards where humans had used the river to irrigate.

As we continued north, we met up with another river, the Thompson. We stopped at a roadside park for lunch, and as I looked at the mountains and the river, I thought of the Okanagan River, and of today's scripture about the river of life flowing from the throne of God. For some, it would be a stretch to think about the Rocky Mountains as the throne of God. However, the majesty of those mountains, covered in snow and glaciers or enveloped in white clouds, gave me, a transplanted easterner, a feeling of being in the presence of God. No one but God could make those mountains and put them there for me to stand in awe of the majesty of both them and him.

Fed by snow melting on the mountaintops, both rivers showed me the life-giving power of water. I could see how lush the land was next to the river, and how burned-up the vegetation was away from the river. A river of life really did flow through those valleys, proceeding from the throne of God.

How much more wonderful will be the river of life that God promises us when we enter into his kingdom! I can only imagine it, but I feel like I was given a bit of a preview of it last summer.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes you open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds to your wonderful creation. You give us a small preview of what awaits us on the other side, and for this we bless and thank you. Amen.

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