Our “Living Water”

– Ponderings:

I am thinking this morning about water (there’s no mystery to why; I spent several minutes lying in bed and listening to the rain). About 60% of Israel is desert, the largest of which is the Negev. That makes it interesting when Jesus referred to himself as “living water.” We take water for granted – it comes freely from the sky and our faucets – but water is valuable and life-sustaining in a desert.

Jesus, in John 4:13-14, said: “Everyone who drinks of this water (Jesus and a Samaritan woman were sitting by a well at the time) will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

In this season of Lent, we are invited to reflect on the things that sustain us. Just as our bodies need physical water, our souls thirst for spiritual nourishment. The woman came to the well for the first kind of water but walked away filled with the second. Jesus offered her more than a temporary fix; he offered her living water.

How often do we chase after things that offer temporary satisfaction, only to find ourselves longing for something deeper? Jesus promises that when we turn to him, our thirst is not just quenched but transformed. During Lent, we are invited to reflect on the wells from which we drink. Are they sources of life, or do they leave us spiritually dry?

When Jesus refers to himself as our “living water,” he means he satisfies our deepest thirsts. To thirst, in a spiritual sense, can have several meanings. It can mean to feel empty, or dead, inside. It might mean to experience pain, grief, or sorrow. It might mean to long for love and acceptance. These are heart problems that only a heart-to-heart connection with God can heal.

Jesus invites all who thirst to come to him and drink his living water. The water Jesus offers makes our lives new and changes us from the inside out. Whenever you drink water today or look out the window and see the rain, think of Jesus as your water of life. Think about how he promises to satisfy your spiritual thirsts and needs … and that he promises that his water is like a spring that will never run dry but is eternal.

Prayer: Lord, you are the living water that my soul longs for. Forgive me when I turn to other sources to fill my thirst. Help me to draw near to you, allowing your Spirit to fill and renew me. May this season of Lent deepen my thirst for you. Amen.