John 7: 37-38 (THE MSG) On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says."
That verse jumps out at me. It always has. Its funny because I often forgot that verse until I would run into a particular friend of mine. The person became my friend at the beginning of my freshmen year at UF and is still my friend to this day.
I have believed that Jesus is Lord and Savior since I was 7 years old when I first asked him into my life. Did I live a Christian life that entire time? Probably not, but first of all what does that mean? I really like The Message translation in this sense. It says "Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way." I feel like it needs an exclamation point and every time you read it you should yell at the top of your lungs.
What a great illustration; rivers of living water! I stop and think of all the rivers I have seen in my life. If I had an ounce of the excitement and speed those rivers have what an impact I could make. I never really had the desire or drive to press on like a river. I was more like a stagnant retention pond, but this friend of mine blew my mind. He always hung out, he always managed to set himself apart though. While we were pouring rivers of alcohol into our bodies he was pouring rivers of love onto us. He always managed to remind me that I was being an idiot. Although he was much more tactful than just coming out and saying it to my face like that.
The truth is, we all have friends like that and people love to be around them, all the time. We all know that we too can be like that. Although I figured this out really late in my college career it has paid off. People confide in me now more than ever. They see how God works in my life. Its funny in my masters program people that had just met me would share things that my some of my best friends would not have shared with me. That is the power of Jesus Christ. I really like how Jesus puts this though. "If anyone is thirsty, come to me."
He makes it so simple, yet we manage to make it so complicated. Why? Who knows? That’s a question I have never been able to put a finger on. Other than the fact that we by nature love to sin and the fact that we are very stubborn people I really don't know why even Christians fail to be obedient to God. One of the 10 Commandments is to "Honor your Father and Mother." I always found that my life was very easy and simple in every facet when I listened to this one more than any other. I believe that when God spoke this commandment he hoped we would see the parallel and that we would honor him as well. When we do our lives get so much simpler.
The second part of this verse involves "Rivers of Living Water." When I read this I have to take a step back and say "Let me get this straight, I take one drink and you give me a river to work with?" That is just proof of God's abundant love and generosity. I believe that this is a subtle but important point. God seeks to facilitate or subsidize the Christian life wherever he can because he knows how hard other parts can be.
I encourage you to seek the drink Jesus offers, its the best thing I have ever had happen to me. God has openned doors and even put me in a place where I can work on this blog. God has let me share my stories to help others, something I never thought possible.
Have a great week. Thanks for reading. . .
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