Jesus replied [to the woman at the well], "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water" (John 4:10 NLT). The woman, noticing that Jesus didn’t have a bucket or rope, asked Him if He really thought His water was better than her ancestor Jacob’s, who originally owned that particular well. It had amply supplied water to her village and livestock for generations. His response was intriguing: Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life." (John 4:13-14 NLT).
Jesus did not say that He was the living water, but that He would give her living water. So what’s the living water? In John 7:37-39, He connects the dots at a festival in the temple… Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within." (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.) Ah-hah! The Holy Spirit is the living water! A perpetual spring. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who supplies a never-ending supply of the water of eternal life and seals our salvation. Therefore, you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation! (Isaiah 12:3 NASB).
Sometimes my family and I go to a nearby spring for our drinking water. It is the best drinking water I’ve ever tasted, and it is always very cold and fresh. We learned from an older gentleman who also fills water containers at the spring that it has served the community for over 140 years. Every year the water is tested, and he, too, tests it for himself, only to find that it is wonderfully pure and provides a never-ending supply of water.
So does the Holy Spirit, but His water is a bubbling brook within us, like a percolating coffeepot of life and joy. Spring up, O well, within my soul; spring up, O well, and make me whole, the old hymn declares. You don’t need a bucket or a rope…just a thirst for Jesus’ brand of water. The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring (Isaiah 58:11 NLT). Drink up!
© 2021, Chris Werre