"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:13-14 (Read John 4:1-42)
What was it that Jesus offered to give this Samaritan woman? She didn't understand. She thought only of water to quench her earthly thirst and wondered how Jesus would be able to give her living water, having nothing with which to draw it up from the well.
Jesus told her anyone drinking from the well of Jacob would thirst again. This water could only temporarily quench one's thirst and need for water. But the water Jesus offered and desired to give her was different. It was a water which would satisfy her spiritual thirst forever. The water which Jesus offered and gives would become "a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Jesus was offering this woman, and us as well, Himself as the Messiah and Savior of the world and eternal salvation through faith in Him (cf. Isaiah 12).
He said in John 6:35: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." In chapter 7:37ff, Jesus said: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John explained: "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive."
Water is, of course, necessary to sustain life; and the people living in the arid parts of Israel knew what it was to thirst.
Jesus and the forgiveness and life He won for all by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross are needed by all to have life eternal. He desires to give to everyone this living water which springs up into everlasting life for He wants no one to perish and be lost forever. He wants to quench and satisfy our continual need for forgiveness and life in fellowship with God our Maker.
It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see Jesus for who He really is: the Son of God and our Savior. It is the Spirit, working through the Word, who assures us that God is gracious to us and forgives our sins for the sake of Jesus' holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead. It is the Holy Spirit who strengthens us in our faith and keeps us trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and life. And God's Spirit moves and enables us to share our faith and tell others of Jesus and what He has done for us.
So it is that all who come to know and trust in Jesus as Savior have the gift of God's indwelling Spirit who, not only brought them to such faith and conviction, but keeps them trusting in Jesus and moves them to share their faith with others who thirst spiritually. The life-giving water that Jesus gives is, in all believers, a well of water springing up into everlasting life. It satisfies for eternity and continues to well up within us unto everlasting life.
O dearest Jesus, grant us Your Spirit and the forgiveness and life You have won for us by Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Preserve and keep us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible.]
Editorial on 03/26/2014