August 9, 2010
Come Thirsty, Leave Satisfied
Sharon Jaynes
Today's Truth
"Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'" (John 4:13-14 NIV).
Friend To Friend
We all come into the world thirsty. From the time my son made his first cry in the delivery room, he began rooting around for something to drink. God planned it that way. Our bodies are 50 to 60 percent water and must be replenished continuously. When we go without water, our skin grows clammy, our eyes become scratchy and our head start to pound. We need water to keep our mouths moist enough to swallow, our vital organs plump enough to function, and our joints lubricated enough to flex. One week without water and we simply dry up and die.
We also come into the world spiritually thirsty. From the time we are cut loose from our mother's nourishing umbilical cord, we begin our journey to discovering the living water that will satisfy the soul. Oh, we don't know it yet, but God has placed the desire in each and every one of His image bearers. Until we meet Jesus at the well, we fumble about trying to quench the God-given thirst with anything and anyone who offers temporary relief. But it is just that…temporary.
It is only in a relationship with Jesus that we discover "the ultimate purpose for which we were created, the meeting and marriage between ourselves and God…the highest and holiest and happiest hope of the human heart, the thing we were all born hungering (and thirsting) for, hunting for, longing for." (Peter Kreeft, Three Philosophies of Life, San Francisc Ignatius Press, 1989, 99.)
In John 4, we meet the Samaritan woman who had come to the well after drinking from many shallow streams. Those streams had only left her thirsty for more - or at least for something different. Jesus offered her freely flowing, resplendently refreshing water; water that bubbles up from the indwelling Holy Spirit and quenches every thirst, washes away every sin, and flows into every nook and cranny of our beings. He invites us to come often and drink deeply.
I live on a beautiful lake. I can look at the lake, swim in the lake and even stand in the lake…and still die of thirst. The only way for the water to enter my system is to scoop it up and drink.
Likewise, we can read about Jesus, listen to sermons about Jesus and even believe that He was a good man. But until we actually believe that Jesus is God's Son, the Messiah, who died for our sins and rose again…until we partake of Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives, we will remain thirsty.
In The Silver Chair, the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis introduces a new character to the land of Narnia. Jill finds herself transported to Narnia as if she were caught up in a dream. The first creature she encounters is Aslan the lion, the Christ figure throughout the series. Aslan appears for a moment and then stalks slowly back into the forest. Jill is terribly afraid of meeting up with the lion, but her increasing thirst drives her in search of water. Alas! Jill discovers a stream, but she has to pass Aslan to reach it.
"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.
"I'm dying of thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the Lion.
"May I-could I-would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. As Jill gazed at the Lion's motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her frantic.
"Will you promise not to do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
"Do you eat girls?" she said.
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.
Let's Pray
Dear LORD, I come to You thirsty today. I pray that you will fill me with living water that never shall run dry. Forgive me when I skip away to drink from other streams that never satisfy. I know that Jesus is the living water and I drink deeply from Him today.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
What other "streams" besides Jesus have you drank from to try and quench your thirst?
What was the end result?
What are some ways that we can quench our thirst with Jesus, the Living Water?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's chat. Visit www.facebook.com/sharonjaynes.
More From The Girlfriends
Thirsty for more? Today's devotion was taken from Sharon's new book, What God Really Thinks about Women: Finding Your Significance through the Women Jesus Encountered. We tend to read the gospels with our twenty-first century eyes, but when we understand how oppressive the culture Jesus stepped into was against women, we begin to understand just how radical Jesus' ministry, messages, and miracles were at setting women free. He risked His reputation to save theirs…and yours. To order this life-changing book, visit www.sharonjaynes.com. You'll fall in love with Jesus all over again.
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Originally published Monday, 09 August 2010.
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