The River and the Reservoir

I was watching, Raya, the daughter of a friend play the other day. She had a small, colorful toy doll in her hand, one she’d gotten as a gift from us. Her friend, Elize, came over and asked to see it.

I saw Raya's hand instantly tighten.

Her knuckles went white. She pulled her arm close to her chest. Her first, unspoken answer was "No." It was hers. She was afraid that if she let it go, she might not get it back. She was afraid of losing what she had.

I smiled, because I knew the feeling. I just do it with bigger things.

We all do. We get our paycheck, and our first instinct is to clench. We look at our calendar, and we see how little free time we have, so we guard it. We have a certain skill, and we are careful about who we share it with.

We live with a clenched-fist mentality. We are afraid of "not enough." We are afraid of what will happen if we open our hands.

The entire message of Jesus stands against this instinct. Our default mode is to get and keep. God's design for us is to receive and give.

From the very beginning of His story, this was the plan. God finds a man named Abram and gives him an astounding promise. In Genesis 12:2, He says, "I will bless you... and you will be a blessing."

This is one of the most important sentences in the Bible. Notice God’s grammar. He does not say, "I will bless you, so you can be blessed." He says, "I will bless you, and you will be a blessing."

The blessing was never meant to terminate with Abraham. It was designed to flow through him to "all peoples on earth."

God is not looking to create reservoirs. He is looking to create rivers.

A reservoir is a body of water that holds, collects, and stores. Its purpose is to keep. But if water sits for too long, it becomes stagnant. A river is a body of water that moves. It is a conduit. It receives water from a source and gives it away, carving a path through the landscape and bringing life to everything it touches.

God has blessed you. With life. With breath. With a new heart through Jesus. With money in the bank (no matter how much). With skills you have learned. With time in your day.

The question that defines your discipleship is this: Will you be a reservoir or a river?

For so many of us, this is a struggle. We are afraid. We hear the word "give," and it feels like "lose." We hear the word "serve," and it feels like "cost."

But Jesus teaches a completely different spiritual economy. He says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). He is telling us that the deepest joy is not found in accumulating, but in distributing.

So how do we live this out? How do we become a river?

It starts with our Treasure. This is often the hardest one. Let's just be honest. We talk about money, and our chests get tight, just like my son with his toy car. The word "tithe" (giving the first 10% of our income to the local church) can sound like a burden.

But what if tithing is not a rule but a gift? What if it is God's designed way to break the power of money over our hearts? Every time we give that first portion back to Him, we are making a powerful declaration. We are saying, "This is not mine. It is Yours. I trust You to provide. My security is not in my bank account; it is in my God."

When we give, we are funding the mission. We are paying for the lights, supporting our church planters, and resourcing our ministries. We are putting our treasure where our heart is. As Paul says, God loves a "cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7), one who gives not from pressure, but from a place of joy.

Then, it flows to our Talents. God has gifted you specifically. You have a skill. You might be organized. You might be great with kids. You might play an instrument. You might have a warm, welcoming smile. You might be good with numbers or technology.

Those talents are not for you. They were given to you, for the body.

The church is not a building you attend. It is a family you belong to. A healthy family is one where everyone chips in. When you serve on the kids' team, you are not just watching children. You are shaping the next generation and giving a tired parent a quiet hour to worship. When you help on the setup team, you are not just moving chairs. You are creating a space for someone to meet with God.

Peter says it clearly: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace" (1 Peter 4:10). When you serve, you are being the hands of Jesus.

And it includes our Time. This might be the most precious commodity we have. We are all so busy. But the river of God's blessing is meant to flow into our community. It looks like loving our neighbors. It means pausing to ask the barista how her day is, and truly meaning it. It means making a meal for a family on your street that just had a baby.

It means being interruptible. It means seeing people not as projects or problems, but as the very people Jesus came to save.

This brings us to the most important blessing of all: The Gospel. We have been given the greatest treasure in the universe. We have been forgiven. We have been adopted. We have a hope that is stronger than death.

How can we possibly hold this in a clenched fist?

The ultimate way we are blessed to be a blessing is by sharing the good news of Jesus. We do not have to be theologians. We just have to be witnesses. We just have to tell our story. "I was lost, but He found me. I was broken, but He is healing me. I was an enemy, but He made me a friend."

This is the very heart of the Pathway Movement. Our vision is "Until Christ Is Known Everywhere."

This vision is not just a slogan. It is a direction for the river.

The blessings of God cannot stop with us. They must flow through us. Through our giving, through our serving, through our loving, and through our speaking. They flow through our small groups, out into our neighborhoods, and into the unreached corners of the world.

God wants to pour His grace and resources into your life until you are full and overflowing. He is not afraid of "not enough." He owns it all.

So let me ask you, where is your fist clenched today? Is it around your money? Your schedule? Your future?

Today is the day to open your hand.

Let go. Trust Him. Watch what happens. You will find that He is not a taker. He is the greatest Giver. And He wants to make your life a powerful, life-giving river, flowing out so that Christ is known everywhere.