[This is a repost while I am away on leave]
Imagine being the sole survivor of a shipwreck. You made it out and you are now in the life raft, adrift on the ocean. You are waiting for a rescue ship to come and save you. But it has been two weeks, and there is still no sign of the ship. Your supplies have run dry and now you are starting to consider your alternatives. You need water. You are surrounded by water. Literally millions and millions of litres of water. But it is salty. No matter how thirsty you are you cannot drink it. Then as time goes on, and as the sun scorches down on you, you begin to wonder: “Could I actually drink this?” Eventually desperation takes hold, and you scoop up water from the salty ocean. You drink. But instead of making you less thirsty, you are more thirsty than before. That’s exactly what it’s like when we try to quench our spiritual thirst with things that aren’t real sources of life. We turn to relationships, achievements, or distractions, but they only make us thirstier in the end. In our passage today Jesus tells us where we can get the true living water that quenches our eternal spiritual thirst.
Lets have a look.
Scripture: John 7:37-52 (ESV)
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, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?”
The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”
The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”
They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
In this passage Jesus speaks directly into that spiritual thirst every human being has. Now remember the background to this passage. Jesus is at the Feast of Booths. This is a celebration where Israel was supposed to remember how God had provided for Israel as they travelled through the desert, from Egypt, to the promised land. Extra-biblical sources tell us that during this festival, the priests would pour out water every day as a way of reminding people that God is the one who provides life. Now on the last day, at the climax of the feast, Jesus stands up and cries 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.'”
Jesus is talking about being filled with the Holy Spirit. We all have this seawater induced thirst for eternal satisfaction, but when the Holy Spirit lives in you, you have the source of eternal living water inside you. But how do you get it?
Jesus is clear – you get it by believing in him. It is only through faith in Jesus that our spiritual thirst will be quenched. Other religions may give us a something tasty to drink, but it is like soft drink. It tastes good for a while, but you can’t live off it. And if you do, it will rot your teeth and give you diabetes.
Now notice, the people’s response to Jesus was mixed. I can understand that. Imagine hearing someone speak like this today. Imagine standing up at a festival and loudly proclaiming “I am the source of all living water”. We would think he was on drugs, or was mentally ill. But that is what it would have been like for the people at the feast. They could either accept Jesus at his word, or they could reject him and try to lock him up.
That same choice is still our choice today. We either accept Jesus at his word, come to him and believe in him and receive the Holy Spirit. Or we have to reject him as a mad man and lock him out of our lives.
Which will you choose?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we recognise that we are thirsty for the living water only you can provide. Please help us forsake all other sources of “spiritual water” and drink only form the wellspring you provide. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge
Today think about where in your life you get spiritual satisfaction from. Are these rooted in Christ? If not, ask Jesus to fill this need instead.