John 7:37-38
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
Some of you know that my wife and I took a week to get away. We went to the water’s edge (a.k.a. the beach.) The beach in January is the right place to be when you want to have some alone time with God. There was almost nobody around…just the sound of living water.
I love that biblical image of living water. It runs through Scripture in several places. I must admit that I was reflecting a lot on living water as the waves continually rolled up onto the sand. Living water is moving water. Stagnant water is water without life. Living water moves constantly – like at the beach.
Perhaps that’s why “living water” is used throughout Scripture as a name for the presence of God. Nothing impedes living water. Nothing causes living water to stop. It continuously rolls, moves, touches, and goes around all obstacles. It never ever stops.
Perhaps that’s why I feel close to God at the water’s edge. It’s a visual reminder to me that God never stops. God’s Will never stops. God’s Love never stops. My humanity cannot say the same thing. I need to stop from time to time to gain perspective, to reflect, to see with eyes that can truly see. If you’ve felt like the hamster on the proverbial spinning wheel for the last 12 months, stop for a moment. Step off the wheel and seek the living water around you.
Take inventory of the blessings in your life. See the living water moving all around you. And smile a knowing smile. You are beloved and you are part of a community of faith that is living water for the world. It is enough.
