Walking Upstream

My favorite day in India this summer was the day we went to Home of Hope. This is a home for the dying and destitute. Basically, they bring people here from off the streets that are close to dying. These people are the lowest of the low, truly the least of these. Sometimes they get better, and sometimes they just have a place where they can die in dignity. I woke up on that morning not knowing what to expect, but knowing it would be intense. As I was meeting with Jesus, he showed me something that marked me on that day and for the rest of my life. I saw a picture of myself stepping outside, and there was a river flowing over the street. Instead of walking downstream with the flow of the river, I turned the other way and began to walk upstream. Most people would go the other way because walking upstream is difficult. It goes against the natural flow of the world. But when you walk upstream, you get closer and closer to the Source. Home of Hope was intense, emotional, full of suffering and broken people, and few choose to go. But Jesus is there, beckoning those who love Him to be a part of what He’s doing. We didn’t see any crazy healings or salvations that day, but we did get to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We touched the untouchables. We loved those the world called unlovable. And as we did this, I experienced the raw, untamable, unquenchable love of God in a deeper way than I ever had before. I was with the Source, and his heart was pouring out and overflowing onto everything.

That day I went where few dare to tread, but I encountered the heart of God in a way that few experience. A way that only comes with choosing intimate risk and adventure with Jesus over the ways of the world. I was changed. It wasn’t only worth it, but it was my favorite. I want my life to be full of these “walking upstream” moments. This is the kingdom of God! I wasn’t created for an easy, go-with-the-flow life. I was created for radical abundance of life. And you were too. So go walk upstream today – it will change your life. Promise.

"But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto eternal life."

John 4:14