It was day four of a seven-day backpacking trip. The summer had been dry, very dry. I was guiding a group of 12 high schoolers through the Colorado wilderness, nightfall was rapidly approaching and we had no water. I was nervous. Looking at my map, I knew that there was supposed to be an intermittent stream coming soon, but I had my doubts that it would have any water running. We got to it and, sure enough, it was dry as a bone. The kids were thirsty, I was thirsty, and we were running out of options. We finally stumbled across a pond created by a beaver dam. Definitely not an ideal source of water, but when you’re that thirsty, anything will do. So, we put a few extra drops of iodine in our bottles and prayed! Water had never been so refreshing.
People who lived in an arid climate 2,000 years ago understood better than we do just how essential water is. Our bodies are made up of roughly 60% water. That’s why, when you go to the hospital, one of the first things they’ll do is get you adequately hydrated. You can only live three days without water. Water is the most fundamental element necessary for life. And so, it was a metaphor that Jesus used to talk about the kind of life he came to offer.
When Jesus came to a Samaritan woman drawing water at noon at a well, he said to her,10 “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) He goes on and describes this “living water” further by saying, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will 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 4:13-14) That’s quite the promise! Jesus used “living water” to talk about the kind of satisfaction our souls long for and the very thing he came to offer.
One thing to notice is that Jesus claims the life he brings “wells up on the inside.” He’s saying there is nothing outside of you that can truly satisfy the thirst that is deep within you. There are many ways we assume that external water will satisfy – setting our hope on a relationship, career, political movement, or money. Even if those endeavors are successful, they are like splashing water on our faces – refreshing, but not satisfying.
I think all of us are like that group I was with traveling along that trail. Jesus is our good guide and he knows that there’s a spring bursting forth with living water, but we must follow him to find it. Jesus is your Good Shepherd and he wants to lead to still water. His water. Will you turn to him as your source of soul satisfaction? Will you allow his love to fill you and his Spirit to well up in you? Turn to him today.
Pastor Ryan Paulson