Water for our Thirsty Souls

Bryson, my youngest grandson, and I were sitting on the deck overlooking the Sea of Cortez. We were talking about a tsunami and the devastation that it can cause. Then he asks me: "What is it that you can’t live without, but it can also kill you?” My “thinker” kicked in and I said: “WATER!” He pondered out loud: “Wonder what it feels like to be drowning?” Me: “Well, have you ever been stuck underwater and couldn’t get a breath?” Without hesitation, Bryson replies: “Oh, yes, it’s called brothers!”

Oh, that boy! The fact is water makes up about 70 percent of our body. It’s a crucial ingredient that helps our brain think, blood flow, and our muscles move. But what happens after we sweat through an aerobics class, spend a day at the beach, or simply ignore our thirst? Dehydration, and it's different for everyone. It depends on how much we’re exercising, the temperature around us, and how much we sweat, but it can get dangerous quick. Suddenly, I’m very thirsty. I just paused to get a bottle of water!

No matter if it comes from a bottle with a brand name or the faucet in our home or mountain spring, water can improve our physical health. But, it can't grant us peace and joy in this life, as well as eternal life. Jesus brought a whole new meaning to water – it is essential in the natural and it is essential in the spiritual. In John 4:5-42, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Referring to the actual well of Jacob, Jesus says “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.” He was referring to every well, stream, lake and source of fresh liquid water. But to the woman and to you and me, Jesus tells us where the real, true fountain of “youth” (the joy and peace that spring up from within) and eternal life is, by saying, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give, you will never thirst. The water that I shall give will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus calls the water that He gives living water.

Unlike bottled water at the convenience store, we can't just go and buy the living water of the Holy Spirit. Something more is required. That something is becoming clean and pure by the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. We put so much emphasis on keeping things clean in our homes. We wash everything: our clothes, dishes, hands, bodies, even our water. It’s not enough that it gets purified at the water treatment plant, it has to be filtered and purified again.

So, we ask, “Do I give as much attention to the cleansing and purification of my soul as I do with my body from germs?” Let's return to Jacob’s well for a moment – perhaps your well is represented by your church or a small group or even in your daily devotions – the places to go to encounter Christ and drink of the living water of the Holy Spirit. And most beautiful, are the waters of baptism that represents the old man and all his sins are washed away and a new man arises to abundant life in Christ here and for eternity.

Don’t be fooled, those cheap imitations in fancy brand-named bottles can quench a thirst in the heat, but nothing compares to drinking at the springs of living water that only Jesus can provide!

Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."

Awestruck at the Awesomeness of God

The longer I live and the places I get to go, the more awestruck I am by the majesty of God. What a genius He is! I bask in His meticulous handiwork everywhere. This last week I found myself in awe of Him even more while at the Sea of Cortez where all kinds of driftwood, shells, extraordinary plants and birds are everywhere. I even found 3-leaf clovers on a rock wall and had the opportunity to talk to my grandson about St. Patrick and how he used the 3-leaf clover to describe the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Thank you, God, for your brilliant way of helping me teach a good Bible lesson!

Bryson and I are the beach scavengers. The many varieties of seashells are the most amazing to me -- washed up from the sea or ocean and are scattered all along the beach. They certainly pull on our imaginations. Intrigued, we pluck them up from the sand to gawk at their colors, shapes, and sizes or hold them to our ear to hear the echoing sea.

My Bryson is the animal-of-any-kind lover so he was very bothered when I pulled a very-attached shell off a rock! “You’ve killed it, Nana! How could you?” My ignorance of shell life, as well as my sympathetic whine, helped my plea for forgiveness! He forgave!

To this gal, growing up on the prairies, seashells represent just about the most exotic and attractive natural objects on earth. But, what is most impressive is God, our Creator, Who came up with the idea of these seashells that offer marine animals some protection from predators with that rigid thick support that enables them to eat (and avoid being eaten), move and reproduce. The diverse forms, sizes, patterns, and colors reveal so much about the creative, imaginative, all-powerful, all-knowing, God we love, know and serve.

Laura Story, composer, and Chris Tomlin, recording artist, put this song on the map -- and its words explain how I felt in God’s vast domain this week:

"From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation revealing Your majesty.
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring,
Every creature unique in the song that it sings.
All exclaiming!
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God!
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God!"

Climbing the Mountain to the Cross

My son kept saying “Mom, I’ve got to take you up the mountain to see the cross! It’s so beautiful up there!” He was up early (5:30 am) the next day to give me the sunrise view! The sun was rising and the timing was perfect. It was well worth the climb to the top where this cross statute sits high above the Sea of Cortez.

Indeed, this would be a “peace zone” moment. I wanted to stay there. I wanted to be still and know my God. It was sacred. A mere cross statute. Certainly not a majestic, towering cross that caused our eyes to look up to remember He Who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our redemption. Just a simple cross in a quiet, mountaintop location. I couldn’t help but be inspired -- not to mention it seemed I was touched by the sun’s rays. My son did a great job capturing the inspiration for me. There was nothing else at the top of this mountain. No signs that identified the artist, the sculptor, the reason for placing it there. But, really, was an explanation necessary? The cross -- whether built as a towering structure or the cross I wear around my neck -- no words are necessary. We know its meaning. We know its symbolism. We know THE ONE Who made the cross famous.

How can one symbol represent so many polar opposites? Death and life, hate and love, violence and peace, accusation and forgiveness, sin and purity, brokenness and wholeness, destruction and restoration, defeat and victory. Once the cruelest form of torture and execution, yet now we proudly exhibit the cross in churches, steeples, and walls and mantels in our homes. The climb to the top of the mountain caused me to re-examine what the Cross means to me -- especially during this season of Easter. The word that fully encapsulates the work of Christ on the Cross, for me, is – SELFLESSNESS.

Someone told me years ago, the symbol of the Cross is simply the cancellation out of the letter “I”. When you put the minus sign over the letter ‘I”, you get the Cross. The crossing of the letter “I” describes the removal of me my and places all of me on all of HIm. Jesus going to the Cross was the ultimate act of selflessness.

His thoughts were only of us and for us. Even to those who were violent and cruel towards Him, He called out to the Father to forgive them, because they knew not what they did. There was no “poor me”, “why me” moments with Him. The Cross meant death for Him but He cared more that the Cross would mean life for us.

Most of all, the cross is LOVE. Christ died for us. The cross was His love. "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:8).

I pray the cross of Christ becomes more meaningful to you than ever before. After all, if you were the only one He died for, you were worth it!