“Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” (John 4:13-14)
Rev. A. J. Gordon, one of the founders of Gordon-Conwell Divinity School, was once visiting a farmer. As he began to leave, he looked out across the field and saw an amazing sight in the distance. A hundred yards away he saw a man silhouetted against the sky pumping water from a well. The man pumped so fast and furiously that he had to be an athlete, even a Superman. Rev. Gordon ran across the field to meet this incredible superhero who pumped water faster and longer than any man alive.
But as he got close, he could see it was not a man at the pump at all. It was only a wooden figure painted to look like a man. The arm that was pumping so rapidly was hinged at the elbow and shoulder – and the hand was wired to the pump handle. The water was gushing forth, but not because of the wooden figure. Rather, it was the other way around. This was an artesian well that was springing up by its own power. It was the force of this water that was pumping the man!
Here Jesus describes the living water that He gives as an artesian well or a fountain which springs up to eternal life. Clearly, Jesus does not expect us to follow Him by our own strength and effort. It is the Fountain of Living Water – the Holy Spirit – who flows inside us who gives us life and all that we need to live for Him. Yes, when we believe in Jesus, He puts the fountain of His Holy Spirit into our hearts. And it is the Holy Spirit who transforms us, empowers us, and motivates us to perform His will.
Living for Jesus is not something any of us can do in his own power. Without Jesus and His life-giving Spirit we are helplessly lost in sin. But the blood of Jesus can cleanse us and the Spirit of God can create pure and holy desires in our hearts.
And remember. Jesus does not merely give us a drink of the living water and send us on our way. He gives us the Fountain Himself, the person of the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts, to renew us, to guide us, and to comfort us along our journey.
REFLECTION
- In your efforts to serve God, do you feel like the man driven by the artesian well? Or, are struggling and laboring in your own power?
- If living the Christian life is a difficult chore, could it be that you’re looking to yourself rather than to God?
- Acknowledge your weakness and inadequacy to God and ask Him to fill your with His Spirit.
