“… but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14, ESV)
As a teenager, I was given the opportunity to be around horses. Riding them was exhilarating … but that wasn’t all there was to having access to horses. They needed to be groomed, fed, watered, and cared for.
I heard the old phrase captioned in our title often in the barn where those horses were stabled and it didn’t take me long to not only figure out what it meant, but also how to deal with each horse according to its own personality.
The above expression is an old English proverb that has been used over the last number of centuries to describe the way some people will choose to do what they want to believe and do … regardless of the facts … and like the self-willed horse go without the water they need to live!
On at least two different occasions in the Gospel of John Jesus references Himself as living water. John 4 that records the amazing conversation between the Samaritan woman at the well where Jesus was resting and John 7 where a feast day was taking place.
It is on the occasion of John 7 where Jesus rises up to proclaim “… If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38, NKJV)
How strange it is that so many who lived when Jesus walked on this earth … hearing the profound words He spoke … seeing and so many who actually experiencing the healing power of this Man… observing one who was perfect in every word and deed … could choose to ignore and yes, refuse, to accept Him as the Messiah and choose to follow Him! But they did … just like that horse at the water who refuses to drink it!
So, allow me to ask you a couple of very simple questions, especially while we are striving to avoid the deadly coronavirus … the likes of which have occurred in man’s history occasionally.
- Are you thirsty for an increased hope you have right now for both the present and future?
- Are you craving a deeper sense of calmness … a sense of peace … reassurance and clarity in the middle of this terrible and uncertain time we are living in?
Speaking for myself, but also for those I know and love who have expressed the identical needs … I do in answer to each of these questions! We will not find the answers we’re looking for by keeping the TV on any news channel, or any other channel for that matter! Our thirsts … our cravings for something substantive can only be satisfied by drinking of the “living water” that comes only from Jesus Christ!
In a day where so many souls are parched by sin, hopelessness and despair … Jesus is the real answer! He is the water that brings life to a person’s soul! Living water that renews, refreshes, creates anew, and that helps those who drinks of it the blessing of never thirsting again!
My friends, may we never, ever forget that He is the Good Shepherd, the Messiah, the Christ, the water of life and the Savior of all mankind who continues to reach out to save all men from every nation and walk of life!
The Samaritan woman at the well drank the “living water” and it changed her life! Will you drink from a well of living water that will never run dry?
Jesus Christ … the Shepherd of Psalm 23 is the one who will “lead us to still waters” … waters of grace, peace and mercy! It is He who “… restores our souls … who leads us through the valley of the shadow of death and whose rod and staff will comfort us.”
It is this Jesus who assures us that His “goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.” (Psalm 23)
.
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
No comments yet.