Living Water

It has been a dreadfully hot summer here in Alabama so far, and rainfall has been few and far between. Experiencing these drought-like conditions made me stop and think when I read through the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.

Today, we take water for granted. If we are thirsty, we can go to a faucet or sink in our home and fill our glasses with as much water as we like. It wasn't that easy in Jesus' day. "In Israel, people were keenly aware of water sources and water quality. Springs and rivers that ran all year were few, so the land relied on cisterns to catch and store the winter rains and wells to tap underground water tables." (NLT insert) Needless to say, as I am currently drinking a Dasani bottled water that says it is "enhanced with minerals for a pure, fresh taste", I am grateful for the time and location in which I live!

When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he would give her "living water" (John 4:10), I've never known the significance of what that statement would have meant to her. "In Jewish culture, 'dead water' referred to standing and stored water. 'Living water' referred to moving water, as in rivers, springs, and rainfall. Such water was precious because it was fresh." (NLT insert) It then makes since why the woman would question Jesus about where he would get this "living water". She wanted to be satisfied and refreshed!

Of course, she was thinking about earthly, physical water that "anyone who drinks will soon become thirsty again." (4:13) Jesus, as he does throughout the book of John, uses this earthly example of water to reveal something spiritual about the Kingdom of God. "But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." (4:14) Jesus makes this same declaration to the masses in John 7:37 - 39. "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.' (When he said 'living water,' he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)"

For those of us who have put our trust in Christ, we have this "fresh, bubbling spring" within us in the Holy Spirit. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, satisfies our spiritual thirst in every way, so let us never abandon the "fountain of living water and dig for ourselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all." (Jeremiah 2:13) Basically, how foolish it would be of us to look for spiritual satisfaction in any other source but Jesus now that we have tasted the "living water". But, let us also be reminded that others are in need of this water, too. People are thirsty for the truth, and we can be the one to lead them to the source of "living water".


So, the next time you are physically thirsty in this hot, Alabama summer, let it be a reminder of the "dead water" that once filled you, and of the "living water" that now springs up within you.