Living Water

     Everybody likes free stuff! I have an app on my phone where I receive weekly alerts for free things at Thornton’s gas station, and every Tuesday, I get really excited to see what the freebie of the week will be. Some weeks, I show great enthusiasm for yummy and fattening items like M & M’s, pastries, chips, etc.  Then there are those weeks where the item doesn't yield an enthusiastic response like beef jerky, energy drinks, and bananas! lol Recently, the freebie being offered was bottled water, and while it is certainly welcomed on hot summer days, I didn’t feel it was something that I just HAD to make a trip to go get. But the interesting thing was that this was not just a typical bottle of water, but the name on the bottle was called “Living Life” water.

     That name alone reminds me of the Scripture text found in John 4: 1-26. Here is a story of Jesus’ encounter with a woman by a well, and He was offering her a freebie that at first did not yield an enthusiastic response from her. Jesus said that the water she was laboring so hard to get from the well would never quench her thirst, but He offered her living water in which she would never thirst again. Although she had never heard of this living water before, she was intrigued and asked for it in hopes that it would change her constant routine of collecting water.

     How is it that when certain things are being offered to us, we are excited and would consider going through hurdles to get to it, especially the big and elaborate things that we long for? But when something simple is being offered without all of the pomp and circumstance, we are hesitant to receive it? God has offered us the free gift of salvation and a relationship with Jesus through the simplest of means, but often, people will not receive it unless the offer comes in some grandiose matter. What do I mean by that? Let me make it very plain. How often have you said (or heard others say) “I want to come into a relationship with God, but I have to clean up my life first?” That is one way that makes it difficult to receive the free and simple gift of salvation because people are waiting until THEY “get it right.” If YOU alone could get YOUR life together according to YOUR standards, then there would not be a need for God.

     Another hurdle is that we feel a need to “remind” God of who we are. When Jesus asked the woman for a drink of water, she asked Him why He would even talk to her because she was a Samaritan and He was a Jew, which was an interaction that was prohibited during those days. But little did she know, Jesus already knew who she was and He still wanted to talk to her. God knows all about you—I mean, He did create you after all, so why are we being hindrances to ourselves because we feel that we cannot measure up or feel worthy to receive what God has to offer?  There is no need for you to remind God of anything because before you were created, God already knew how many times you would mess up, how many times you would fall, and how resistant you would be to make Him the sole priority of your life. Yet, He still wants to offer you something that will be life-changing, transforming, and easily accessible.

     And finally, one of the biggest hurdles that make it difficult to receive the free and simple gift of salvation is that people wait until some major life crisis occurs before they will accept the gift. Is it really necessary to wait until you have experiences like Job did, in which you have to lose your family, possessions, finances, or health in order to see a need for God? Is it necessary to be standing on the ledge of life, and ready to give up all hope before you realize that there is a free and simple resource made available to you? Jesus has offered you something that is not only free and simple, but it is also life-giving. The living water that Jesus offers makes it possible for your needs to be met in ways that you could never do for yourself. But most importantly, Jesus is THE Living Water, who desires to have a relationship with you, and to help you carry out your full God-given potential.

     So what is hindering you from accepting that free living water? What is standing between you and experiencing the life that God has designed just for you? This free and simple gift doesn’t require a big parade, balloons, or confetti. All that is required is stepping out on faith, and understanding what your life will be like if you DON’T accept this free offer. The alert has already been sent out! Do you feel your life is worth making the trip to go get it? The choice is up to you!