Sunday, July 24, 2016

Living Water From The Well of Jesus! #JesusFollowers

The Fourth Gospel tells us that Jesus was passing through Samaria around noon and was weary from his journey. Sitting beside a well, a woman from Samaria came to draw water from it. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

The shocked Samaritan woman said, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (she said this because Jews didn't usually have dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered, offering her "living water," saying "Everyone who drinks of THIS water (in the well) will be thirsty again, but 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.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." (John 4:7-15)

Jesus does all that his Father, our God, tells us to do, and he perfectly represents our God among us. Yahweh, our God, says Jeremiah, is the source of this Living Water (17:13) and Jesus tells us that the living water that lives through his words and teachings are what saves us, directing us towards - "welling up to" - eternal life with this God.

In Jesus' acts of service and generosity, we can see over and over again the spirit God wishes us to have. Jesus lived as a servant of all, and poured out his living blood throughout his life, as well as his blood at death, as a spiritual lesson for us.

The Fourth Gospel is a spiritual book, and its author writes spiritually about Spiritual Truths. Jesus tells us we may "drink in" his teachings, his example, and his life lessons. We make them our own when we actually do them.

Jesus prayed to God for strength, and for wisdom. This too, is an example we may follow, seeking from God strength, wisdom and guidance. If we ask for wisdom in all we do, he will guide us on the right path. (James 1:5; Prov. 3:6)

Once we have drunk in this living water, it's not enough to simply sit still, but it must nourish our spirits and spur us on to do the Good Works Jesus says God requires of us. Of much has been given, much is required of us. (Luke 12:48) And Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of God begins NOW, in this time, in our lives, and that we must be up and building it. (Luke 17:21)

We are called to not hide our light, but to instead let it shine forth so that all others may benefit from our example. (Matthew 7: That light is the light implanted within us by God at our births.

This is the same innocence and beauty Jesus refers to when he tells his disciples to allow children to come to him, and says we, too, should reflect such purity and innocence in order to be worthy of the Kingdom of God. (Mark 10:14)

Just as our bodies are composed of water from our birth, God has implanted goodness within us - good and holy waters - from our birth. We are called to use these living waters within us to water the world with Goodness.

And just as the woman at the well would be able to ask for the waters Jesus offered from God our Father to nourish her spirit, we may also ask God for continual waters of wisdom to wash over us continually, nourishing our spirits.

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