The Christian with a Flower-Garden Faith

In the vision, water flows out from the new temple and rises from the ankles to the knees and then the waist, until it becomes a river no one can cross. It was the revelation of a promise that captive Israel would be restored.

The order in which the water rises can be read as the stages through which a believer’s faith grows. Faith starts out in a flower garden and makes its way past stumbling blocks, over mountains and through valleys, and across a storm-tossed sea, until it reaches the place where it soars like an eagle. A flower-garden faith makes blessing its condition and gives way at the first frost. An eagle’s faith perseveres through the Word and through faith, and it recognizes the workings of Satan.

The vessel of faith differs from one Christian to another, so it is not right for believers to criticize and condemn one another. God does not want a showy flower garden. He wants a steadfast faith that gives thanks without conditions. Those who know their priorities and live according to God’s will come to stand like great trees that not even a typhoon can shake.