Living Water

I was a little disappointed that no one guessed what was in my box today. I told everyone that after my family it was one of my very favorite things. There were lots of laughs in the crowd when I pulled out a diet coke. I am not a coffee drinker, and I will admit you can tell how my day is going by the number of diet coke cans in my office, awaiting a trip to the recycling bin. My favorite beach towel is bright red with the slogan "Coke adds life".

To make sure I wasn't setting a bad example for our children, I also brought a green water bottle to chapel. When I am trying not to chug diet cokes I make sure my water bottle is filled with ice, lemon slices and cold water. Given the omnipresence of water bottles, it is probably hard for the children to understand the significance of the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well.

In Biblical times it was often the job of the young women in the family to fetch water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and watering livestock from the closest well.  This meant that if you were interested in meeting a young woman the well was the place to be. However instead of offering to buy the lady a drink, a pick up line would involve the man asking her to provide water for him or his animals. And so we have a thirsty Jesus, asking the Samaritan women, for a drink of water.

There is so much depth to this story, but what I hoped to get across to the children was the simply idea that while Christ struck up a conversation by asking for water, he is all we need to quench our thirst. There are so many things we seek in this world that leave us still thirsty, wealth, fame, property, power, the perfect pair of heels, but once we ask for him he fills our hearts with love.

Are you thirsty?