John 4:13-14 (NIV)
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
I find the account of Jesus and the woman at the well in the fourth chapter of John to be quite profound.
Jesus arrived at the Samaritan town of Sychar at midday and sat down at the well of Jacob as He was tired from the Journey.
As Jesus had both a divine and a human nature, it can be safely assumed that it was human nature that felt fatigued.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well where Jesus sat .
He asked her to give Him water to drink.
She then reminded Him of something He already knew; He was a Jew whereas she was a Samaritan.
She could have just as easily asked, "Don't you know that we are not supposed to have anything to do with each other?"
Jesus responded to her in verse ten that if she really knew who He was, she would have asked Him for living water.
The woman did not understand. In her culture, their were two kinds of water. There was stagnant, or dead water (like that found in pools) and there was water that moved freely, or living water, (like that found in rivers).
As there were no streams or rivers in the vicinity, she had to return to this well to draw the water that she needed to survive.
She simply reminded Jesus that He had no bucket and that the well was deep.
Jesus told her that those who drank water from this well would thirst again but those who drank of the water He provided would never thirst again.
She still did not understand as is evidenced by her response in John 4:15...
The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't go thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
Before we criticize this poor woman too much, we need to remind ourselves that we often do the same thing.
Jesus offers us so much that is spiritual and eternal and yet we often ask Him just to meet our immediate needs… those of the here and the now.
Jesus offers everyone living water and the hope of eternal life. He offers that which is living, yet so many choose merely surviving instead. He offers the eternal, yet so many choose the temporal.
I thought about this during my commute recently.
The part of central Texas in which I live has experienced explosive growth over the last few years.
Many areas that were once undeveloped are now teeming with houses and apartments.
Numerous water towers also dot the landscape in order to provide thirsty residents with their daily water requirements. Technically, these waters now trapped and are no longer "living" waters in that sense of the word.
People no longer have to draw water from wells. It is now just another convenience that is taken for granted.
Many also take the living water Jesus offers for granted as well.
In that regard, we live in a very thirsty world indeed.
He offers us a choice.
Will we choose living for the eternal, or merely surviving in desperate search of the temporal?
Blessings,
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeet.byethost3.com/ on Friday, July 2, 2010.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I'll be back here on Friday, July 9, 2010.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Ignoring the Warning Signs
James 4:17 (NIV)
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
Wednesday morning, it rained… hard!
According to the experts, a low pressure system stalled right over the top of us and it just kept raining.
A series of flash flood watches were issued and these were quickly updated to flash flood warnings.
Low water crossings became dangerous.
A news crew had been dispatched to one crossing in particular that is always one of the
first to become problematic.
By the time they had arrived, public safety officials had already set up road blocks to protect drivers.
While the television reporter was delivering the news that this crossing had already been blocked off, his cameraman turned in order to capture the image of a car simply driving around the roadblock as if it were not there and then proceeded down the road to the crossing about a half mile away.
Needless to say, the reporter reminded viewers that this an illegal act that carries a fine. He also reminded viewers that making a choice like this shows a lack of sound judgment.
It reminded me of an incident I experienced just a few months ago.
It was on a Saturday and I went to the supermarket to do my weekly shopping.
I walked inside and grabbed a cart.
Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded and warning lights began to flash in every department.
As I put my cart back, I was surprised to see almost everyone continuing their shopping.
By their expressions, I could tell that they considered the combination of the alarm and
flashing lights annoying but not enough for them to stop shopping and head for the exits.
I shook my head in disbelief and went outside.
After a few minutes, the alarm went silent so I went back inside.
I noticed the lights had also quit flashing.
I identified an employee by his name tag and asked if everything was okay.
“False alarm,” he said. “I don’t know what triggered it but everything is okay now.”
The shoppers who ignored these warning signs were lucky… this time!
I thanked him, grabbed a cart and proceeded to get my own shopping done.
That’s the way it is with sin. Often times when we are tempted to sin, we know in our
hearts that the path on which we are about to embark is the wrong path.
Sometimes, the mere thought of what we are about to do or say brings on that feeling of guilt well before the act is committed or the words are spoken.
According to 1 Corinthians 10:13...
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it.
If the Holy Spirit puts up a road block to keep you on the right path, will you choose to simply go around it?
If He causes the alarm of guilt to go off in your mind, will you choose to simply act as if there were no warning at all?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeet.co.nr/ on Friday, June 18, 2010.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, June 25, 2010.
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
Wednesday morning, it rained… hard!
According to the experts, a low pressure system stalled right over the top of us and it just kept raining.
A series of flash flood watches were issued and these were quickly updated to flash flood warnings.
Low water crossings became dangerous.
A news crew had been dispatched to one crossing in particular that is always one of the
first to become problematic.
By the time they had arrived, public safety officials had already set up road blocks to protect drivers.
While the television reporter was delivering the news that this crossing had already been blocked off, his cameraman turned in order to capture the image of a car simply driving around the roadblock as if it were not there and then proceeded down the road to the crossing about a half mile away.
Needless to say, the reporter reminded viewers that this an illegal act that carries a fine. He also reminded viewers that making a choice like this shows a lack of sound judgment.
It reminded me of an incident I experienced just a few months ago.
It was on a Saturday and I went to the supermarket to do my weekly shopping.
I walked inside and grabbed a cart.
Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded and warning lights began to flash in every department.
As I put my cart back, I was surprised to see almost everyone continuing their shopping.
By their expressions, I could tell that they considered the combination of the alarm and
flashing lights annoying but not enough for them to stop shopping and head for the exits.
I shook my head in disbelief and went outside.
After a few minutes, the alarm went silent so I went back inside.
I noticed the lights had also quit flashing.
I identified an employee by his name tag and asked if everything was okay.
“False alarm,” he said. “I don’t know what triggered it but everything is okay now.”
The shoppers who ignored these warning signs were lucky… this time!
I thanked him, grabbed a cart and proceeded to get my own shopping done.
That’s the way it is with sin. Often times when we are tempted to sin, we know in our
hearts that the path on which we are about to embark is the wrong path.
Sometimes, the mere thought of what we are about to do or say brings on that feeling of guilt well before the act is committed or the words are spoken.
According to 1 Corinthians 10:13...
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it.
If the Holy Spirit puts up a road block to keep you on the right path, will you choose to simply go around it?
If He causes the alarm of guilt to go off in your mind, will you choose to simply act as if there were no warning at all?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeet.co.nr/ on Friday, June 18, 2010.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, June 25, 2010.
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