All photos courtesy of Unsplash
I don’t know if you have noticed, but we seem to have had a lot of rain lately.
OK, let’s put the sarcasm one side for a moment. I think we all agree that, in this country, we have our fair share of rain, but even so, there has – seriously – been an extraordinary amount over the past months. As a result, there has been a significant amount of flooding in many parts of the country.
By contrast, I can remember the summer of 1976 when we went for weeks on end without any rain at all. At that time people were longing for a downpour as gardens went unwatered, cars were unwashed and beaches were continually full.
We would all agree that we need rain even though we complain about it. But there is a very fine dividing line between drought and flood. Usually, in this country at least, we live on that fine line and we have enough water for our uses without it becoming a hazard to our homes and lives.
But in many parts of the world, water is a precious commodity. It seems strange that a planet that has so much water in the oceans can suffer from water shortage in so many areas. But it is a fact that only three percent of the water on earth is what we would call fresh water, and of that, two and a half percent is unusable either because it is locked up in the polar ice caps, in glaciers or in permafrost or because it is so far underground as to be inaccessible. After accounting for polluted water, it has been calculated that only about 0.3 percent of all the water on earth is usable as drinking water.
It is incredible to think that all human and animal life on earth depends on such a small amount of water, but the fact remains that, without this vital liquid, life would cease.
We can often take our water supply for granted as, all we have to do is turn on a tap to obtain a fresh clean stream of cold water, but for many people in the world, the daily need for water necessitates a trip to the local well or river.
The Lord Jesus once met with a woman who had made this daily trip when He was travelling through a town called Sychar one day. On the outward appearance, the woman was simply there to fulfil her daily need for water, but Jesus knew that she had another, deeper need.
His words to her were startling and thought provoking.
“Everyone who drinks this water (referring to the water in the well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman, of course, was intrigued and interested to receive such a wonderful gift as, at the beginning, she thought that she would be able to avoid the daily trek to get water from the well. But as the conversation continued, she realised that Jesus was offering her something far greater and far more important. He was offering her the spiritual fulfilment and satisfaction through a living relationship with Him. He was offering her eternal life.
We all need water to live. But that is a need we have to fulfil what is a temporary and physical demand.
We all have that deeper need as well. We all need the living water that Jesus spoke to the woman about, for we all need to receive from the Lord Jesus that gift of eternal life that He offers.
The woman at the well came looking for water, but found something far more precious and far more lasting. May you also know that same blessing at the beginning of 2024.
DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (05/01/24)
Written by STEPHEN TRESEDER
