Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 4:13-14
This morning I am eating breakfast and enjoying coffee on the back patio. It is a perfect time of the year for such relaxation and reflection. Water in our pond is running from pool to pool as it falls from its highest elevation making a sound most pleasing to the ear and the birds maneuvering in the garden and trees add to a gorgeous scene.
Water is what captures my mind for reflection. I am back on the seashore of Bermuda listening to the waves break against the shoreline. I am swimming in the falls at Blue Basin in Trinidad. I am fishing in pure, clear water at Keystone Canyon outside of Valdez, Alaska. I feel the spray of the ocean from the decks of a yacht as we sail into Newport, Rhode Island. I am on the deck of the Maid of the Mist below Niagara Falls. There is water in abundance!
Here I am sitting in the Sonora Desert of Arizona and remembering abundant water. My mind goes back to a visit in Cairo, Egypt where I was thinking… ”If I lived in this situation, I wonder how clean I could keep my home and my body?” We have never had to live without ample water! Just yesterday someone asked for help because her trees were “stressed” for lack of water.
Our home, along with those occupied by 100,000 others, is supplied with water from wells. The water is pumped from an aquifer that originates miles and miles from us. Tension is rising among the residents concerning the prolific manner in which this reservoir is being drained as we endeavor to turn this valley into verdant pastures of delight for the thousands of newcomers that are flocking here each year.
We are all aware of the value of water and its necessity to life. When residing in an area like ours, you make sure that you are in possession of water if you are to travel any distance. In fact, you see many of us walking along with bottle in hand at all hours of the day and night. Dehydration is a real concern!
Jesus said to a woman by a well (John 4:10), “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” That woman’s response showed how people miss out on the more important things of life and succumb to their physical desires above the spiritual… ”Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw.” (John 4:15) After more conversation, “Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.” (John 4:26) Her need was more spiritual than physical, but she was not aware that this was the case.
However, Jesus was also aware of peoples’ physical needs and what we do as individuals to help meet those needs. In speaking of the cost of discipleship and the accompanying rewards for faithful service, He said: “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42 NASB)
How blessed to read: “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13, 14 NASB)
I will return to my coffee, my waterfall and pool, and I will reflect on water. Join me!
ETCetera 