Water That Quenches Our Thirst
I have always been fascinated by Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. First of all, she came at a time when one else would usually be there and to encounter anyone, especially a Jewish man, was quite unusual. For that man to speak to her was even more unusual.
And what Jesus said to that woman what unbelievable.
He told her, perhaps more than any other, who exactly who He was and
what He was all about. Why, I
think you could write a book about it! One
thing He said that stands out to all of us was that He offered water that
would quench our thirst…forever. This
woman’s response was quite practical, “Give me some of that water so I
won’t have to come to this well again.”
And yet we know, and this woman would also know, that the kind of water
Jesus spoke of was much more than drinking water and the quenching He spoke of
was of the heart and soul.
I will tell you that most unpleasant feelings I can not relate to…but being
thirsty?…well, that’s a different story.
You see I played football in an era when water breaks were not allowed.
As a football coach today, I give our players water ever 15 to 20
minutes. When I played, water
breaks were a sign of weakness and after a three and a half hour practice in
full pads in 90 degree heat…yes, I knew what thirsty was.
It was called “the cotton mouth.”
We would come straight to the showers after practice, pull the shower
nozzle off and man, water never tasted so good.
We live in a world where there is much thirst and many things to quench that
thirst. But no matter how hard we
try, nothing seems to work…nothing except Christ.
Some of us get the “cotton mouth” we get so dry.
Sometimes things work temporarily, but soon the thirst returns.
Like the woman at the well, we get tired of coming back to same old
place, knowing we will suffer the same results.
Christ fills out life with living water and the water He offers quenches our
thirst. We never have to search
again…His love fills us and overflows into the world around us.
What a blessing it is to know we will never be thirsty again…the
water He supplies is the same today and forever.
The ways of the world fade away, and no matter how difficult things
get…no matter how alone we feel…no matter how high the mountain or how
dark the cloud…He presence fills our life.
And we are not alone…and we are never thirsty…not now…not ever.
Thanks be to God.