Thirsty?
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/fluid-pouring-in-pint-glass-416528/
Feeling hot, hot, hot! We are in the fourth heatwave of the summer, with some places reaching over 30 degrees centigrade!
The local landscape is scorched and dusty and I haven’t cut the grass for weeks! I have found it difficult to sleep, even with a fan on all night.
The other Saturday morning I set of for my long run around 7:30am, as I wanted to avoid the soaring heat. As the sun came up I could feel myself getting hotter and my pace slowed.
After 10 miles, I eventually made it home very thirsty, so went straight to the kitchen and drank two pints of water. That was followed by a lovely cool shower. The water refreshed me both inside and out.
We often associate water with being refreshed. When Jesus was at a Jewish feast in Jerusalem he declared…
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
When Jesus said this, He was not selling water! He was not speaking literally but spiritually. In other words, He was saying that He was the source for ‘spiritual’ life.
Jesus was the fulfilment of what had been foretold in the Jewish ancient texts, which He refers to as scripture.
Jesus added that as people come to Him, something else happens, ‘living water’ will flow from them. He was describing a new transformed, abundant life that comes from an internal change, a work of God, also known as being ‘born again’.
Jesus made two things clear: He is the source and the invitation is for everyone!
I have been in a few conversations recently where the topic of the supremacy of Jesus came up. In both cases I said that the claims and actions of Jesus, recorded in the Bible are like no other.
Today, Jesus stands out as one of the greatest leaders of all time, and His teachings and lifestyle continue to both inspire and challenge.
His invitation still stands too! Thousands of people have responded positively to it and been refreshed and transformed. Are you thirsty?
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader