"All Who Are Thirsty" Lyric Video
Have you ever been thirsty? No, REALLY THIRSTY!!! Maybe you can remember going on a hike that was further than you anticipated and you had no water left halfway into the hike. Maybe you were stranded by a disabled vehicle and had to walk miles to the nearest gas station to either use a phone or get a gallon of gas, and get a drink. We are seldom thirsty. We have ample supply of pretty much everything except maybe silence.
To the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus just spoke about living water where you will never thirst again. She was filled when she left, dropping her water bottle as she returned to town. What does it mean to be satiated with what we need? We often focus upon what we do not have. What about when everything that brought us security is suddenly taken away similarly in the life of Job. Surely, we would be prone to depression. Would we keep our faith like Job?
Paul spoke to Timothy:
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires and plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs…. I Timothy 6:6-11
Paul knew what it was like to be esteemed, having a fabulous pedigree. He later called himself "The chief of sinners". Who could bring about such transformation? Can Christ be trusted if we give up things that we hold dear that simply complicate and distract us. Paul came to that conclusion; he was imprisoned and died for his faith.
Later in John 5:16-47, Jesus speaks about who He is trying to please (follow). "[the Son] can only do what he sees his Father doing". Now that is an extreme thirst, to yearn to please God. Think of the joy that Jesus had with His Father as they created the world and the Universe, together. That is beyond Ectasy? It is far greater than the Broncos scoring 33 points in the 4th quarter against the Giants. Just try to visualize the kind of intimacy that Jesus had when he was commissioned after baptism "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased".
In his rebuff of the Pharisees at the end of John 5, Jesus is certainly not trying to play nice and be friends. He makes it clear who He is and what His purpose is. He calls them out on their game and speaks of Moses whom they greatly revere.
"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:45-47
You may say that Christ laid his cards upon the table. So did Moses; "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead for his reward". (Hebrews 11:24 -26).
Can I say that Moses hungered and thirsted for God and it cost him dearly? Yet, he ended up having a much more meaningful life from the choices he made. How can our thirst grow for the same? For significance, only in Him.
by John Colvin
