Living Water
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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This past weekend my family and I drove to a little town about an hour away from home where my aunt has a beautiful cottage. Since the snow is now finally off the ground it was time to open up the cottage.
While I was outside doing some yard work the rest of the family was inside and when suddenly I heard a few people yell out: "oh, no!" I knew there was a problem. I ran into the cottage only to see water gushing everywhere. While my brother tried to stop the leak, the rest of us ran in different directions, grabbing buckets or whatever else we could find to stop the water from flowing. It was a pretty futile attempt. Even once the source of the leak was found and dealt with, there was water everywhere. Every crack, crevice, and low point was filled with water and we were too late to stop it.
As I spent a good deal of time on my hands and knees, helping to clean up the mess I couldn't help but see a spiritual parallel in this experience.
You see over and over throughout the new testament Jesus is referred to as the Water of Life. Now while water refreshes, it is also key to life. Without water, both humans, plants, and animals would not be here- we would all die. But Jesus doesn't just offer enough for us to get by on. When He comes into our lives, we overflow. And just like all it took is one small leak to cover our cottage floor, all it takes is one small prayer for Jesus to come into your life and flood you with His presence.
In John 7:37-39 Jesus said: "If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
And then when speaking to the women at the well, Jesus said: "Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst."
But the key is, you have to be thirsty. Revelation 22:17 states: "Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."
So the question you need to ask yourself is are you thirsty? And if so, do you want to be refreshed? If the answer to those two questions is yes, then get ready for change because the second you ask Jesus to fill you up, everything changes.
First His water comes into our hearts and through His blood, washes away all of our sin. Second, just like the water did at my aunts cottage, it flows through and fills every crack and crevice and empty spot. And finally, once the water has filled our heart and soul, it quenches our thirst. In John 6:35 Jesus said: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
So today no matter where you are and what you're doing, if you're feeling thirsty, go to the only source that can quench the thirst: Jesus. And when you do amazing things will happen because just like that leak at our cottage couldn't be stopped, once the Living Water enters your heart it spills and consumes every part of your life. And sooner or later when you start sharing the source with others, it fills their lives as well. And before you know it a tidal wave hits your friends and family and the best part is- the source of water is endless. Jesus can quench the thirst of billions, just like He's quenched the thirst of millions in years past.
Let the tidal wave begin!
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.