John 4:14 “But whoever drinks of the water I give him will never thirst again. Indeed, the
water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
These are the words Jesus said to the Samaritan Woman at the well. A very famous story about a very important meeting that impacts all who read it and respond to it. The text explains that the never ending supply of the water that Jesus gives at salvation satisfies our thirst throughout eternity. (Thus the words never thirst again) Two words scream at us from this wonderful scripture and they are found in verses 13 and 14. The two words are everyone and whoever. In verse 13 Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again and In verse 14 he says, “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”
Jesus gives a choice to the woman at the well and gives her a promise. “Everyone who drinks the physical water of the well will thirst again.” The word everyone covers all who drink. Jesus specifically says next “but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again.” What an offer!! To me the point of the whole thing is this. Are you thirsty? If you are, then what is your water source? If I have just taken a big drink of something, I am probably not going to accept another drop because I am full. My thirst has been quenched. But for how long? Some people aren’t thirsty. They believe they can last out without any water, but that changes when they actually start doing something that causes their body to function and thus needs replenishing. If you are doing nothing you probably won’t get very thirsty. If you are active and doing something you will NEED WATER, and that need will drive your next move. The move involves getting a water source. The woman at the well was at the well to fill her water pots to take back to her home to supply her liquid needs. Perhaps cooking, washing hands, drinking, or many other needs. Jesus shared with her an eternal water source that would take care of all her spiritual needs. Perhaps peace, joy, forgiveness, and of course, eternal life. Spiritual needs vary, but Jesus’ water satisfies those needs. The trouble is I don’t think many Christians feel like Jesus water does much for them, so they seek out ways to quench the thirsts of their soul through temporal worldly sources. When that water runs out they find some in other areas, but some of those areas involve compromise and that compromise shows just how tainted and temporal that water is. Yet, they continue to seek out the world’s supply of water to quench their thirsts because their thirsts are not for eternal things, but temporal things. That is a major problem, so what should we do about it? We must satisfy our thirsts from the eternal well of Jesus. His water satisfies our thirst continually and that consistent supply is what powers our spiritual motor. You can always tell a person who is tapping into the supply of water Jesus gives. They are satisfied with what they have and their thirst is quenched by what God supplies. Then they live a complete life that bears fruit from the way that water has grown them as it supplies ongoing nourishment for spiritual growth. That’s when they start bearing good fruit from their life that is planted and nourished by God’s eternal fountain that lives inside of them. That fruit draws others to God’s well (Jesus) and then they have the chance to drink of the salvation that only Jesus can give. Now that’s what I call the “circle of life.” Forget the lion king!! This circle is real and causes us to say hakuna matata for eternity. So if you are thirsty and you are relying on the world to quench your thirst. NOT GONNA DO IT!! Drink from the eternal source of eternal life and eternal living only offered by Jesus Christ and see what kind of fruit you bear from your life tree. I bet it will be good. Are you thirsty? Time to drink up!! Jesus is offering you His water today.
Driving up from Beersheba, a combined force of British, Australians and New Zealanders were pressing on the rear of the Turkish retreat over arid desert. The attack outdistanced its water carrying camel train. Water bottles were empty. The sun blazed pitilessly out of a sky where the vultures wheeled expectantly. “Our heads ached,” writes Gilbert, “and our eyes became bloodshot and dim in the blinding glare…Our tongues began to swell…Our lips turned a purplish black and burst.” Those who dropped out of the column were never seen again, but the desperate force battled on to Sheria. There were wells at Sheria, and had they been unable to take the place by nightfall, thousands were doomed to die of thirst.
“We fought that day,” writes Gilbert, “as men fight for their lives… We entered Sheria station on the heels of the reteating Turks. The first objects which met our view were the great stone cisterns full of cold, clear, drinking water. In the still night air the sound of water running into the tanks could be distinctly heard, maddening in its nearness; yet not a man murmured when orders were given for the battalions to fall in, two deep, facing the cisterns” He then describes the stern priorities: the wounded, those on guard duty, then company by company. It took four hours before the last man had his drink of water, and in all that time they had been standing twenty feet from a low stone wall on the other side of which were thousands of gallons of water.
How thirsty are you? Are you desperate for the water that quenches your thirst forever?
The Pilgrimage continues…..
David Warren