One time a water line leak meant that all water to our house had to be shut off for 30 hours. We were able to fill the tub & some containers with water before it was shut off. We also had 6 gallons of water stored in a closet. We had to pour water in the sink to wash up with. My wife heated water on the stove to wash the dishes. It reminded me of growing up in a house without running water, when my Mom heated water on the stove daily, to wash dishes. According to my wife, my mmother was a saint. Imagine pouring water into the toilet to flush. We took showers at other places and used a neighbor's hose to refill containers.
All things considered, it was an inconvenient adventure that we survived. We learned a new appreciation for running water. Do you remember the survivors of Hurricane Katrina? Water was one of their biggest needs. It’s possible that one day, you and I may lose running water due to a disaster. Have you ever heard what the water supply is like in a third-world country? Clean, running water is not to be taken for granted.
Our water experience made me think of the Water of Life. In John 4, Jesus told the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will become thirsty again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never become thirsty again. The water I give him will become a spring of water, springing up to eternal life.”
Later, in John 7, in a festival in Jerusalem, “Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, the same as the Bible says, streams of LIVING WATER will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the SPIRIT, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (See Isaiah 12:2-3, 44:3-4, and 58:11 for the blessings of life-giving water.) Only the Messiah could promise the LIVING WATER of the Holy Spirit to all who believed, and Jesus showed that He was the Messiah, the Savior who came to save his people from their sin.
The baptismal water represents a means of God’s grace. We Christians believe different things about baptism, but we all agree that the water represents the cleansing mercy of Jesus, to wash one’s sins away.
If you live without running water for a day, you’ll gain a new appreciation for water. It’s just as hard, if not harder, to live without the life-giving water of Jesus. Go to Jesus through prayer and the Bible. Confess your sins, and ask for forgiveness for your sins. Pray for the help of God’s Spirit, to live as He wants us to live. Pray for the life-giving water of Jesus, the WATER OF LIFE.
Clean, running water is not to be taken for granted. Neither is the Water of Life. Appreciate the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, the water that comes from Jesus.
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