The Water of Life

"I can't drink water," the lady told me dramatically.  "I never could."

"Really?"  I asked, a bit puzzled.  I've heard of many allergies, but never one to water.  Our bodies are about 70 percent water.  It is hard to imagine how anyone could survive without water.  "What do you drink?"  I asked her.

"Mostly diet sodas," she told me.  "And occasionally some sweet tea."

"Hmm," I paused for effect.  "I wonder what the main ingredient of those drinks is?"

"Of course, they have water in them," she said.  "I guess I should say that I like my water flavored."

It reminds me of a meme that I saw recently that said something like "I like eggs...  In cake."

During Jesus' ministry He use a lot of different metaphors to explain the Gospel.  One day, as He was talking to a thirsty Samaritan woman, He told her "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water."

The Samaritan woman didn't understand a lot about Jesus' message, but she did understand water.  The people in Jesus' day didn't drink soft drinks and sweet tea.  They drank water and maybe for special occasions some grape juice or wine, but probably most of them couldn't afford anything other than water.  Once or twice a day they made a journey to the well in their community to fill large pots with water.  If they skipped that trip often enough, they would die.

Water was (and is) necessary for life.  Jesus' message is just as necessary.

I am afraid that these days people want to mix the living water with other things.  They want to "flavor it" to make it acceptable to the modern palate.  But what we need is the living water, the message of Jesus Christ -- nothing more or less.

No one ever died due to lack of carbonation or cola flavorings, but plenty of people have died from lack of water, particularly the water of life.