The 12 Days of Easter, Day 8: Water of Life

Easter 6

Day 8: Water of Life

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” Rev 21:6

water  [waw-ter, wot-er]

noun

1. flowing water, or water moving in waves

2. the surface of a stream, river, lake, ocean,

3. to furnish water to (a region), as by streams; supply (land) with water, as by irrigation

In Jesus’ time, it was hard to underestimate the importance of water. Wells were a gathering point for a village or community as the people came to draw water for the day’s cooking, cleaning, eating, and watering of the livestock and crops. Cisterns were used to collect every drop of water possible.

Consequently, when Jesus said He would give “the fountain of the water of life freely to Him who thirsts,” He was using words that resonated deeply with the people on many levels. First of all, the word freely is important. The people could have as much of this living water as they wanted and needed. No drought would effect it, nor would the supply be limited by what they could carry or who owned the well.

The phrase him who thirsts  is also pivotal. Everyone gets thirsty, so everyone is eligible to receive living water if they want it, not just a privileged few.

For greater insight, we must also consider John 4:1-26. In this passage, Jesus delves deep into the hearts of the people with a lesson about Living Water. Jesus meets and talks to a Samaritan woman who is at a well drawing water. This was unusual for two reasons. First, Samaritans and Jews had a longstanding dislike and distrust of each other, and secondly, men usually did not address women in public unless they were family members.

But Jesus breaks with that convention for an important reason: He gives her an opportunity to change her life. He tells her in verses 13 and 14 that the water He gives is different; it will become “a spring of water welling up to eternal life, and those who drink it will never be thirsty again” — truly a revolutionary idea that her spiritual thirst could be eternally satisfied.

These scripture passages are just as relevant to us today as they were to the people thousands of years ago. Although many of us have easy access to water, we are still a spiritually thirsty people. Only Jesus can quench that thirst, and He does that by offering His well of eternal life that will never run dry.

point to ponder

Do you draw deeply from your well of eternal life as you go about your days? We can never plumb the depths of what Jesus has for us. This should not be a “one and done.” Give your life to Jesus, and then spend the rest of it drinking deeply, growing and learning and sharing this gift of eternal life with others.

prayer

Lord,

We thank you for quenching our thirst for redemption with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. May we draw deeply from this well each day, living our lives in Your power, finding our callings and contentment in You. In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

previous posts

Day 1 : Breath of Life

Day 2: The Life

Day 3. Eternal Life

Day 4. The Life Which I Now Live

Day 5. All the Days of Your Life

Day 6: The Book of Life

Day 7:  Word of Life



A Walk of Faith

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

Read John 5: 1-9

Don’t you just love that Jesus isn’t afraid to live His life on the edge?

As chapter five opens, we see that Jesus is once again in the middle of a group of people who aren’t the up and comers of Jerusalem: they are all blind, lame, or paralyzed (v 4). Can’t you just picture Jesus walking by the Sheep Gate and being drawn to the crowd of helpless people lying by the pool? Jesus always has the poor, the orphans, the helpless, and the sick on his radar, and I can just imagine Him making a beeline for the worst one there. Verse six tells us that Jesus learns that one of the men has been sick for 38 years.

Jesus then asks him what seems to be an obvious question: “Do you want to get well?”

Why would Jesus ask this question when the man has been lame for 38 years? Surely the answer has to be yes. I wonder if Jesus did this because the man has lost hope, accepting this affliction as his permanent reality. Perhaps Jesus needs to reawaken in this man his dreams of a normal life and a healthy body.

You’ll notice that the man doesn’t directly answer Jesus’ question with a yes or no. He instead offers an explanation as to why he hasn’t received healing—he has no one to help him in the pool when the water is stirred, so someone else always gets there first. If that’s the case, it’s no wonder the man is discouraged.

Probably every day a friend or family member on his way to work carries the lame man to the pool and then picks him up on the way home. All day the lame man simply waits and watches the water—we don’t even know how often the Spirit stirs the water. Every day, week, or month? At the first ripple of water, the man desperately tries to crawl or roll to the pool, but for 38 years, someone else always gets there first.

I can just imagine that Jesus stays quiet until the lame man stops talking. Jesus locks eyes with the man and tells him “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” And just like that, he does. Thirty-eight years of atrophy gone in one second.

What can our friend from the pool of Bethesda teach us?

  • A vibrant faith reawakens hope in our lives. When the lame man meets Jesus, he sees the power of God in Jesus. This ignites his faith, and Jesus heals him.
  • A vibrant faith sometimes requires us to make a move. The lame man has to act on that faith. He takes Jesus at his word, picks up his mat, and stands up.

Where has hope died in your life? Jesus is trying to get your attention, look you in the eye, and shake you out of your spiritual paralysis.

What is he asking you to move out of and on to in your life? Like the lame man did, we need to pick up our mats and leave behind the years that crippled us. Faith flies in the face of years of bad habits, patterns, and stagnation and moves us toward health and healing and possibilities.

This is the first blog in our faith series. Please leave a comment below on your thoughts, feelings, or experiences in growing your faith.

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