“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 everlasting life.” John 4:14
When the Lord Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman many years ago, who had come to the Jacob’s well to draw water, he spoke of living water, as opposed to that which was natural, physical. He made it clear that it was a “gift of God.” As He increasingly gave to this woman in need, who was thirsting after a “water” that she did not know of, nor possessed, He spoke then of the gift of God coming from Him, and this, twice or more. It was a personal gift directed at an individual.
There are two things that stand out concerning this “water” from God. The first, beyond being a gift, is the fact that with the knowledge of its existence, it was to be received. One was to drink of it. It was not enough to know about it, its source, and even its everlasting qualities. It must be received. But who is the one who will truly receive this water? It will be the one who thirsts, longs for the eternal, to meet the eternal thirsting of the soul for God. The casual bystander will not partake of this water, for his desire is for other things. Not so with the one whose thirst is that created by God for God. Hence, this woman hears what Christ is saying, and even though she needs to be instructed as to what is not true worship, and not the true God, she is brought face to face with the question of whether she will truly receive, and drink of this life-giving water.
The second thing that the Lord speaks about concerning this water is the endless depth and resource of it. It has no end, its volume being unchanging as an endless well, ever-fresh in its present, and continuing, life-giving qualities. So, to the thirsty soul, Christ takes them by the hand, and leads them to a well where there is a water that is not of this world. It is one where the water is ever springing up with Life, His Life by the Spirit. However, he reveals that it can only be partaken of by the one who is truly thirsty, for only the truly thirsty soul, that one pursuing God, will forsake the “broken cisterns of this world, that can hold no water,” to embrace Christ, “…the fountain of living waters.” (Jeremiah 2:13) Herein is an aspect of the beauty of God in Christ, that the Son of God comes to this earth to die for the sins of sinful men, that by His sacrifice, provision is made for the lost, and helpless sinner, to come to God, and to drink from a living stream, an endless well of living water which is Christ Himself, and then to live by His blessed Life, His Eternal Life. This is love, which defies the whole logic of sinful men, embraces a cross, and gives to the uttermost all that He is and has, so that the lost sinner whom He loves, can drink of this living stream and live.
There is another aspect to this “living water” that must be noted and grasped. It has to do with completeness. In the revelation of Christ as the Messiah to the woman in Samaria, comes with it the revelation of a great mystery which had been hid from the foundation of the world. Paul speaks of this mystery which is demonstrated by the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, but which is expounded to us in Paul’s letters. With the thirsty soul being saved by drinking of this living water, comes the revelation and realization that God, by the Spirit in Christ, has come to indwell the believer, so that henceforth, Christ’s fulness is made one with the believer. Complete in Christ, the believer is called upon to take Christ as his life, his all.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to drink. In Jesus’ name, Amen.