Published Mon, Nov 10, 25.
Written by Jared Duran.
Channels for God
"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive…"
Mendoza is a desert. It’s famous for more than 300 days of sunshine each year. Rain is rare here (In fact, Mendoza gets less rain each year on average than Fresno), and yet. Mendoza is filled with thriving trees. Almost every city block is shaded by massive green trees.
How can these beautiful trees thrive in such a dry environment? The answer is actually really cool. Mendoza is located very near the Andes Mountain range, and as the weather warms up in the summertime, the snow in the Andes begins to melt and supply water to the Mendoza River. In turn, the Mendoza River supplies a massive network of irrigation canals (or acequias) that run up and down nearly every street of the city and through many of the parks and plazas. This water is fed right into the soil that supports the thriving plant life of Mendoza.
This layout for the city really got me thinking about our role as the Church. Jesus says that from the hearts of those who believe in him would flow the living water of his Spirit. We get to operate as channels through which God can flow. These acequias in Mendoza come in all shapes and sizes; some run through grassy parks and some down small alleys, but all of them provide a way for water to reach the city, and wherever that water flows, life follows. Everywhere we go, as we interact with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family, we get to offer the living water of the God who lives in us. It's not through striving or trying really hard; it's just through having a real relationship with Jesus and being available to the people around us all over our cities. Different channels supply water to different places, but all of them are needed for each part of the city to thrive.
This last week I had some really cool opportunities to see how God is working this out in my own life!
The first was with a friend I've just met who is from here in Mendoza. We get together for coffee so I can practice Spanish and he can practice English. He doesn't know Jesus yet. As we talked about our lives, he was sharing with me about the lack of community he is experiencing, and I got to share with him about our church and the community that we have. I invited him to come and join us, and he expressed interest. I'm hoping he will come join us soon!
The Second was with my Spanish teacher, who is also originally from Mendoza. She also hasn't met Jesus yet, but when we were practicing conversation in Spanish, we couldn't decide what to talk about, and she said, "You're religious, right? Why don't you tell me about that?" and I got a chance to just freely share with her some of the ways that Jesus has changed my life. She told me she was very impacted by what I shared, and I'm hoping for more opportunities in the days to come to share more with her!
In both of these moments, it felt so clearly like God was giving an opportunity, and all I had to do was be honest about my life with the people he put in front of me. I didn't have to have everything completely planned and figured out. I just got to be a channel for God. My prayer is that in these conversations and the ones to come would offer them a little living water that would make them thirsty for the source.