Drink from the Well

It is hot! It is really hot! Between the high temperatures and extreme dew point, there is a extreme heat warning in effect for the metro area. That means that it isn't safe for folks to be outside for any great lengths of time. It also isn't safe to leave the pets outside for any length of time. Our dog, Zebulun, doesn't like to go out in this heat. He loves the AC. Then again, every time I am outside and walk into the AC, I will think, "Thank God that He gave someone the knowledge of how to make AC work." Weather like this makes us give thanks to God for those things we often forget about on most occasions.

One thing that is needed on these hot days is to continue to stay hydrated. It is important to drink plenty of water to refresh the body and keep it healthy. Without the water, the body will begin to have all sorts of problems.

As I thought about that today, my mind went to the account of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well of Jacob. You can find this encounter in John 4. The subject of the discussion between the two begins with water. Jesus asks her for a drink of water. Soon the discussion goes from the physical (needing water) to the spiritual (needing water). Jesus says to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whomever 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 water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14 ESV) The water that Jesus is talking about is that Word of eternal life that He brings to all.

The Word of God (and Jesus is that Word as John tells us in John 1) is the life-giving water that quenches the eternal thirst of the soul. We are called to drink deeply from this well of eternal life. There in the Word we will hear of all that our Lord has done and continues to do for us in our lives. He will refresh our souls day after day. This wondrous, life-giving Water flows over us (in the waters of Baptism), through us (through the hearing and reading of the Bible) and fills us (in the Lord's Supper).

You wouldn't think of trying to mow the lawn without drinking water on these hot days (or on most days). Why would you think of trying to go through your daily life without those blessed Means of Grace refreshing you? Jesus invites us to the Well of Living Water. Come to the Well. Drink deeply of what He gives to you and be refreshed.