John 4:14 - But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.
As believers, how many of us can say that we’ve truly accepted this water that Christ offers in John 4? I fear that many of us are guilty of walking through the motions and traditions of Christianity without ever accepting this life-changing drink. Church pews are full of people who believe that their salvation is assured based on the habit of their attendance on Sunday morning but the message preached during that hour is lost before they even exit the parking lot.
Chambers opens today’s devotional saying:
“be being filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of the saint as lavishly as it is imparted to him…Keep right at the Source, and – you will be blessed personally? No, out of you will flow rivers of living water, irrepressible life.
Irrepressible life. Is this what my walk of faith looks like? Would those who know me say that my walk with Christ is such that the irrepressible life of Jesus flows forth from my very being? I’m sad to say that the answer to that is “no”, my walk doesn’t look like that – not yet.
Christ promises that when we drink of the water he gives, that it becomes a “fresh, bubbling spring within.” When we consider the imagery Jesus uses there, it speaks volumes about what our lives as Christians should look like. A spring flows constantly, it’s water typically clean, sweet and refreshing. It cannot be contained. You can’t plug it – if you tried the pressure will simply force the water out elsewhere. What fantastic possibilites Christ offers here! That my life could be a source of refreshment to those I come in contact with? What more could I hope for than to be a vessel through which Christ’s love and grace is evident – not so that people would see me, but that they would see HIM in spite of me.
Chambers explains:
We are to be centers through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to everyone. Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus…It is not a blessing passed on, not an experience stated, but a river continually flowing. Keep at the Source, guard well your blief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no deadness.
It is all about our relationship with Christ and safeguarding it in such a way that nothing can come between us and our Savior. When we focus our lives on Him and seek to be a vessel through which He is revealed, there is no end to the possibilities of God’s power through us. We aren’t limited by our abilities, our talents, our charisma – all of those are irrelevant to God. Rather, it is our commitment – and our submission - to our Savior that allows His grace to shine through us. Grace and Love that transcends our abilities, our talents, and even our circumstances. We must never underestimate what God can do when we allow Him to do that which He will!
This is a picture of what Christ-followers are supposed to look like! The fragrance of Christ exuding from every pore, rivers of living water flowing from them, spilling onto whomever they come into contact -- bringing abundant life!
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