“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come. And let him that heareth, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17
Throughout Scripture there is the call of God for every man to come to Him, draw nigh to God, believe and receive from God all that is good, in particular, life eternal. In Jesus’ day, one of His wonderful words was, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) At another time he would say: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” (Jn. 7:37) There is revealed by these verses the fact that there are many reasons for coming to Christ. In the first example, there is the consciousness of one’s limitations, one’s strength, and the burdens of just living and working, that press upon the soul. The soul is brought to the consciousness of one’s need of relief from all that would assail one’s life and existence. The God who created man is the One who alone can lift the burdens of life, giving strength to live. In the second example, there is the conscious conviction that one is thirsty, but not for physical water. The Psalmist wrote: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for the living God.” (Ps. 42:1,2) There is a thirst of soul, which the Lord gives for Himself, that can only be quenched by God. The different times, places, circumstances in the history of this world, have not changed this.
When Jesus confronted the woman at the well in Samaria, He knew that she was thirsty with a thirst that came from God. However, she did not know how to quench that thirst. In Jesus’ dealings with her, He said: “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, ‘Give me to drink,’ thou wouldest have asked of Him, and he would have given thee living water.” (Jn. 3:10) Here is a woman who was seeking satisfaction and security of soul in the wrong place. Jesus pointed her only to God. She was brought to the place in her heart, perhaps not even realizing it, to see that God alone could meet her need. She then opened up to hear what Jesus would say. The Lord would then reveal the very clear distinction between her physical thirst, and spiritual thirst, that thirsting of the soul after God. “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but, whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into eternal life.” (Jn. 4:13,14) Jesus, by drawing out the heart of the woman towards God, would make so very clear that, just as it is possible to quench one’s thirst with physical water, so it is possible, even certain, to know the quenching of soul-thirst for God, by God Himself. The Psalmist of old knew the experience of God quenching his thirst, when he sought God for it. It is the same today. God gives thirst in order to give Himself to the believer. The question then arises: “How should man respond to this thirst of God?’ The answer is two-fold. The first thing is to choose to come to Christ, simply as one is, knowing for certain that, not only will he not be cast out, but God in Christ will give him rest, His peace, and the satisfaction and security of soul that he is seeking. The second aspect to coming to Christ is the “Call to God.” The cry of the heart is one certain expression of seeking God. To the one who calls, the promise is this: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) The call of the heart to God, in sincerity, is the very expression of faith that God will surely answer.
Dear Father, Our souls are thirsty. We call upon Thee for grace to come wholeheartedly, receiving the water of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.