Page 15 - Livin Light Issue 81

Wednesday June 14 - Eternally satisfied
“Whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.”
John 4:14
Jesus has identified himself as the Living Water. He now goes on to describe the effect, or the result, of quenching our spiritual thirst in drinking of him. Our heroine just can’t get past the immediate physical nature of thirst-quenching water, missing completely Jesus’ deeper, spiritual meaning. He insists, however, on his superiority over the patriarch Jacob, who dug the well, and the nature of the life-giving water he gives. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (vv 13-14).
This promise bears resemblance to the imagery in the Song of Solomon, where the bride is described as a ‘well of living water’ (4:15), because the ‘fountain of living water’ (Jeremiah 2:13 & 17:13) flows within her. Isaiah (58:11) also predicts that God’s people ‘will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.’ In using this figurative language, Jesus is describing how those who turn away from their sin and trust him for salvation will enjoy all the benefits of his death and resurrection – both now and forever! As good as ordinary water is, what Jesus offers is infinitely better: living water that enables a superior and indestructible life, providing cleansing that no stain can blemish, and eternity that can never be lost.
Lord Jesus, you are the giver of life; may I enjoy you to the full. Amen.
Thursday June 15 - The grace of conviction “Go, call your husband...” John 4:16
The only fitting response to the offer Jesus makes us is to ask him to give us the ‘spring of water welling up to eternal life’. We must go to him so that he can make us spiritually clean and alive, that we might enjoy all his goodness. The woman wants this water, but as yet does not understand its true meaning. Before she can receive the offer of eternal life Jesus puts his finger on her real need, by touching on her marital status. With penetrating insight Jesus addresses the woman’s sinful lifestyle by declaring that she has had five husbands and is now living with a man who is not her husband. In essence Jesus is telling her that in order to receive the water he offers, she must face up to the sin in her life.
This devastating truth concerning her relationships leads her to conclude that Jesus is indeed a prophet, and yet she is evasive rather than penitent. She shifts attention from herself to the age-old question of Jewish and Samaritan religious traditions. His answer – showing the substance of true, God-glorifying worship – proves to be the clincher for the woman to make a saving connection to Jesus. When we appreciate the goodness of what God offers us in Christ and have been drawn to it, we must recognise that we cannot have Jesus if we also want to keep our sin.
Lord Jesus, please grant us a spirit of repentance, that we might find relief in you. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
13