It’s been pretty chilly all over the country the past few weeks, including here in middle Mississippi, so if you are still trying to thaw out, a glass of ice-cold water doesn’t sound very good to you. That just means we’ll need to use our imaginations today. Travel in your mind to summertime – the middle of July. Do you remember how hot it is? So hot you could fry an egg on the hood of your car. When you step outside the heat hits you so hard, it makes it difficult to breathe. Now you’re no longer complaining about how cold it has been, but rather, you are sweltering and sweating and wishing for cooler days and that you weren’t cooking in the summer heat. When you get to that mindset, think about a simple glass of ice-cold water.
Think about standing outside in that sweltering summer heat, having just finished weedeating or some other miserable summertime task that has you dying for a glass of water. Sweat is dripping off your brow and into your eyes causing them to burn a bit. But you look over on the steps by the door and there is a thing of remarkable beauty. Someone has set out for you an ice-cold glass of water. The glass is full of ice cubes and the water is glistening inside that glass – beckoning you to come over and drink it. Beads of condensation are running down the sides of the glass. Your hand grabs that cold, wet glass – it feels so good that you even get a little shiver – and you put the rim of the glass to your lips. The coldness is about to be on your tongue, you tilt your head back to take your first big swallow and to feel that ice-cold goodness pour down the back of your parched, dry throat. And as you pour it into your mouth, you get a terrible shock as you realize it is a glass of salt water. The salt is all in your mouth, and you find yourself spitting and sputtering out nasty salt water. What a terribly cruel joke.
It looked like what you needed, your desire for it was so strong, but once you tasted it, you found that it didn’t satisfy in any way.
Ocean water contains seven times more salt than the human body can safely ingest. Drinking it, a person dehydrates because the kidneys demand extra water to flush the overload of salt. The more saltwater someone drinks, the thirstier he gets. You can actually die of thirst while drinking water.
In this life, we can do the same thing as we lust after the things of this world instead of for Jesus. We thirst desperately for something that looks like what we want. Something that will make living enjoyable – that will give us a sense of satisfaction and joy. We try all sorts of things. We don’t realize, however, that all these things that we are trying are the opposite of what we really need. We are thirsty for something in life that will bring us true satisfaction, but we are not drinking from the right fountain. Jesus says He is the Living Water – the only fountain that satisfies completely.
Whatever you are filling your life with – if it is not Jesus – it will not fully satisfy. It might give a moment of happiness, but in a short matter of time, life seems empty again. Only when you are filling your life with Jesus, does life make sense and bring satisfaction. It is only then that everything else fall into its proper place and can be properly enjoyed. Take a moment today to be certain that you are filling your life with Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water.
Don’t drink in salt-water – drink in Jesus.