Are You Thirsty?

Being from Texas, you have the privilege, or challenge, of living through some notoriously hot and dry summers. In a matter of days, we will be in the throws of another such summer. Here summers begin as early as May and can linger well into October, and these kind of summers bring an usual set of challenges.

One such challenge is the incredible dryness and what it can do to a parcel of land, especially one that receives no extra help from sprinklers. Behind our church building there is a huge empty field where our children occasionally have games and activities. During summer, however, this field clearly shows the effects of the hot and dry climate. The normal cracks in the ground turn into giant crevices where it would might be possible to lose a small child. As these cracks grow and widen, I imagine that the earth is opening its mouth wider and wider, stretching, longing that it will catch even the smallest amount of moisture. Yet, it often sits there in dire need of water.

The sight reminds me of the lives of those who follow Christ. Oddly enough, these summer cracks in the ground correlate in vivid way for me. You see, Jesus calls himself the “fountain of living waters” in Jeremiah 2:13 and he is compared to water many times throughout Scripture. In fact, he said, “if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” in John 7:37. In another passage, Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman and he said, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was compared to water, and specifically referred to himself as water? What exactly is so special about water that it would be tied to the Savior? It might be the fact that, as humans, we must have water to live. It is 100% necessary to sustain our very lives. When we go without water, even for a short period of time, our health quickly begins to deteriorate. We, simply cannot live without water!

“Water is a fundamental part of our lives. It is easy to forget how completely we depend on it. Human survival is dependent on water — water has been ranked by experts as second only to oxygen as essential for life. The average body is 55 to 75% water. Two-thirds of your body weight is water (40 or 50 quarts). A human embryo is more than 80% water. A newborn baby is 74% water. Everyday your body must replace 2 1/2 quarts of water. The water you drink literally becomes you!” (“How Important Is Water”, Dr. Feredon Batngei)

Seems clear that water is extremely important to our bodies. And, we can be assured that God knew exactly what he was doing when he likened his Son to water. He is the Living Water! Maybe we need to respond as the Samaritan woman did when Jesus spoke of this life-giving water. She said, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” May you and I both find our soul’s thirst quenched only in Him.