Day 26: Jesus, Our Thirst Quencher

A month ago, I started using a new brand of toothpaste. The new product caused dry mouth, thirst and a host of other problems, including issues with my stomach. Not only did it make me wonder what they put in the product to make my body respond that way, today, it makes me think of John 4:14 when Jesus said to the woman at the well, “but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The inclusion of the conjunction, “but” means that Jesus was offering a contrast to what the woman had been using to quench her spiritual thirst. 

Jesus was also offering her a different form of comfort and security that was not dependent on a man. While she was wired by her context to provide security for herself in a society where women were nothing without a man beside them, Jesus was offering her something more – earthly comfort in a godly way. Jesus was giving her a heavenly mind and a earthy purpose. Once her spiritual thirst was quenched, her earthly mission of being an evangelist began. Jesus just reordered her life in a godly way to put spirit before things. 

Like this woman, earthly comfort and security is something we humans are wired to pursue. Like this woman, we humans are also wired to pursue something greater than ourselves. For us Christians, we pursue God through our relationship with Christ Jesus. 

We live in a societal context that will wear us out in pursuit of earthly comfort and security. Yet, when we achieve those things, if we have not also tended to our soul’s thirst, we will be miserable. Living in the DC Metro area, I am always in conversation with some of the most materially successful men and women in the nation; yet, their souls continue to thirst. Instead of judging them for pursuing success, God has asked me to offer them Christ as a way to order their lives; so that their soul thirst is quenched. Like the woman at the well and like all of us, they need something more than earthly security and comfort. 

Even though there was nothing I could do about my new brand of toothpaste and the thirst it produces, I can always do something to quench my spiritual thirst, and that is take a drink from Living Waters. 

Today, as you reflect, are your thirsty for a soul refresh? If so, take a drink from Jesus, the Living Waters, our real deal Thirst Quencher.