We Are Invited 3

John 7:37-38

I’m a very thirsty person. I carry a bottle of water with me just about everywhere I go because I frequently need to take a drink of refreshing water to quench my thirst. I keep it nearby when I preach. I keep it with me in the car. I have it close at hand even when I am doing things around the house.

Water is one of those basic needs we have to be alive. It requires water to sustain life on earth, and human beings cannot go very long at all without water. While Jesus was attending a Jewish festival celebration he took the opportunity to use water as a teaching tool and to offer an invitation to those who would believe in him. What does he offer? What will happen to those who believe?

I must constantly refill my water bottle throughout the day. We have a Culligan tank that I use to top off the small bottle I carry. And no matter how much I drink I get thirsty again after a short while.

But Jesus makes an invitation to all who thirst. His invitation, however, has nothing to do with the water we drink throughout our day. Jesus was talking more about spiritual refreshment. If a person thirsts – desires greatly – the presence of God’s grace and mercy, then that person can come to Christ and drink. The invitation Jesus gives is the invitation to come have our souls, our spirits, refreshed and renewed by being with him.

Not only will our souls be refreshed by him, but as believers in Christ this spiritually refreshing water of God will flow inside. We will be able to be refreshed over and over again because we will be one of God’s children, people who have a refreshing faith in our Savior. And I also believe this flowing water is not just for us. The refreshing water can flow from inside of us to others who need that spiritual renewal.

We need to remember that just as I must go again and again to the water tank for more water, we can go again and again to Jesus to have our souls made new. We can also know that once we have committed ourselves to Jesus that spiritual refreshment he offers will be with us always. And that spiritual renewal can flow from us to those in need.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you go to Jesus to drink?

Youth Week 4

John 4:13-14

Our area, northwest Ohio, is suffering through quite a drought. It has been more than four weeks since we had less than ¾ inch of rain, and almost two months since we had a good rain that saturated the ground. The crops are suffering. The lawns are brown. The streambeds and ditches are drying up.

The need for refreshing, life-giving water is apparent. The thought of clear, flowing streams of water is a desperate longing many of us have. Life cannot exist without water. We cannot make it through even part of a day without drinking some liquid refreshment to keep us going.

Today’s passage is part of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well. What is the comparison he makes? What is the water he offers?

He had asked for a drink of water. She was there gathering the water she would need to make it through the day. A nice, cool cup of water on a hot and dusty day would be a welcome relief, but it would only be temporary.

So it is even with us. We can drink our fill until we are comfortable, but the need will quickly return.

But Jesus is talking about a different kind of water. Jesus is talking about the spiritual refreshment that life in the Holy Spirit offers.

Just as our daily activities and efforts will make us physically thirsty, so living in the world can make us spiritually thirsty. We may find ourselves longing for the comfort and strength, the new life, which only God can give. Dealing with daily temptations, struggling with problems and fears can wear us out. Our souls can be thirsty for some type of respite, some type of comfort, some type of energy.

We can find that by living a life that follows the teaching of Christ and is obedient to the will of God. We can be refreshed when we accept that Jesus is our Savior. And that refreshment is not a temporary respite from our struggles, but it is a constant refreshment for us, a constant wellspring of living water that fills us again and again. The presence of Jesus in our life, in our thoughts and our attitudes can keep our souls refreshed and welling up with living water that is the love of God.

Our youth offered water to strangers during their SOS experience. With that encounter they had the opportunity to invite spiritually thirsty people into a new life with Christ, into a relationship that involves the living water of Jesus.

Their ability to be compassionate and caring, their ability to be willing to share the good news with strangers, should be a refreshment to our souls. It should cause us to have that living water of God – the love of the Holy Spirit – well up in us that we might also be willing to spread the message of Christ.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you share the living water of Christ with anyone?