Living Water (Lessons from John #1)

"...Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

[john 7:37-38]

I always read this verse and nodded to myself thinking, "Yes! this it! It's so great! I totally want that!" And yet I realized that I had no idea what it meant to have rivers of living water flowing out of my innermost being. I didn't even know where my innermost being was!

Then I went to Biola and met a man named Matt. He is a professor of New Testament Literature, specifically the gospel of John. Taking his class has transformed my life. Not because of him [and yes, he is an awesome professor], but because of the work the Holy Spirit did through him [cuz He's an awesome Spirit].

So where did Jesus get the idea for this "living water" thing? Well we see it mentioned in John 4 with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. And with some further research into the culture back then, there were ritual cleansings that happened at meals, gatherings, etc... The water that was the most healing to them was what they called "living water" which was the water that moved, keeping it fresh. This is why the Pool of Siloam was so popular. The waters moved and that was when they would heal the people. And when the Samaritan woman was so excited/apprehensive about Jesus showing her this living water, it was because they lived in a desert and the only water was in the well. To have moving, "living" water accessible was nearly impossible and an amazing idea.

But lets take a look in the Old Testament for this idea of what Jesus meant when he talked about this water flowing out of the person who "is thirsty."

Ezekial 47: 1-12. Now this is a relatively long passage, but I encourage you to go read it quick. Look, I'll even put in a link to make reading it faster. Click Here.

Now these verses are talking about the temple. But to sum it up, the water trickles from the temple, and then gets deeper and flows stronger. Soon it is a river that cannot be forded, it is so large and deep. There are trees on either side of the river, and as the water flows into the sea, it transforms it into fresh water. there is an abundance of fish and other creatures which live by water. and in verse 9 it says, "...for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes."

everything will live where the river goes.
this is important.

This passage continues to describe the trees which bear fruit, not every season, but every month. Their leaves bring healing.

Words that describe this passage: abundance. life. healing. overflow. transformation.


Now picture this. Jesus says, "you will tear down this temple and I'll rebuild it in three days." [john 2:19]

He is claiming to be that temple from which flows this water which brings life, healing, abundance and transformation. if you are a thirsty soul needing cleansing, go to him. His ministry reflects this water. There were also the salty marshes [jewish leaders] which he came into contact with that would not drink and be transformed. And it reflected in their lives. They were as white-washed tombs, reflecting death, not life.

But how does this apply to us? To take this a step further...when we believe in Jesus, and our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit, what will our lives look like? actually, let me personalize this. what will MY life look like? It will reflect this picture. overflowing from my innermost being, my heart, my soul, my belly...will come living water. Water that brings life to everything [everyone] it comes in contact with. Picture it like a wake which surrounds and follows after me. it just oozes out of me and touches lives and causes transformation. I won't try or force it out of me... it'll just happen by the power of Christ in me. He lives in me, reflecting the Father. This means I am the embodiment of the glory of God.

Wait, did you catch that? The glory of the most high God dwells in ME and transforms me and spills out, touching other people. THAT is so incredibly awesome. mind-blowing in fact.

And so often I have read over this verse and thought it sounded cool, but didn't realize how incredibly far-reaching my God is...and that I have personal access to the life-giving flow which He offers.

Say What?

"So what are you studying in school?"
This is the most common question one can get when meeting new people. There must be some rule book out there that says after introductions and awkward small-talk about how great the weather is, the next question MUST be regarding what you are studying or what you studied in school. MUST.

The thing is, when I answer this question, I get a whole volley of spoken and unspoken follow-up questions.

It goes something like this: (spoken in bold, unspoken in italics)
Unsuspecting Person (UP): So you're going to Biola, eh? What is your major?
Suzy (S): *should I just say sociology or say the whole thing?* Sociology and Criminal Justice
UP: *does a mental double take* oh wow!how interesting! *my goodness, criminal JUSTICE? at a CHRISTIAN school? Are you enjoying it?
S: *here we go* Yes, I love it a lot.
UP: So what do you want to be? *can any good come from this field?*
S: Well, I want to be a Probation Officer *Quick! don't leave that hanging! their eyes say you're crazy!*

Lets just say it rarely goes well...and always seems awkward. Its like they want to counsel me out of it, but don't know what to say.
So let me tell you why I want to be in this field. I will admit that I am slightly "tetched in the head" regarding why I became interested in criminal justice. Basically *deep breath*
I love crime.
a lot.
I used to watch crime shows, read crime books and imagine how I could be the perfect criminal. Not for the sake of violence, stealing, killing or the crime itself...but just wondering if I could pull off the perfect crime...all the details and such.
So i decide to study crime...specifically how to catch those super-smart criminals. Mainly because I wanted to outsmart them. be better at their game than them. be able to predict what they were going to do and when. get inside their head to see what was making them tick.

Then my love for human interaction came into play. I met a lady who would forever change my life and perspective on my future. I have taken four of her classes here at Biola...and God has used her in amazing ways to direct me to where I am today.

Probation includes the close interaction with crime as well as the relational aspect. I have a heart for the kids I will be working with. Their parents, teachers, communities and the system has given up on them. They feel helpless, hopeless and are acting out of that. I long to bring justice while administering love and guidance. These kids need someone to believe in them and give them proper boundaries.
This is my heart's desire. the passion God has given me. And he has opened doors so it is possible. This industry is scary and involves dangerous people. But they need the love and light of Christ just as much as anyone else. No, its not for everyone, but I know i can handle it...so why not? Who knows how long I'll be doing this... I'm not making any rash statements about that. But here and now...this is where God wants me.

So let me tell you about my internship. It might give you a glimpse into what I do/will be doing on a day-to-day level. I find it fully fascinating and I honestly love pretty much every minute of it. I am working at a Southern California High School for the Probation Officer there. There are 3600 students (give or take) and 97-ish % is hispanic. Our case load is about 49 kids right now. (which is actually a lot since we have to meet with them and write reports for them regularly).
This Supe (short for supervisor) that I work for believes in a hands-on approach to learning, for which I am extremely grateful. Although, I must say on orientation day, I was a bit nervous. He said I would be writing reports, interviewing kids, talking to parents, making phone calls, filing and navigating the computer systems. It felt like too much, and I wasn't sure I would be able to handle it. And yet, I have absorbed the information like a dry sponge, and I am immersed completely in my responsibilities.
Some of the things I do or have had the privilege of doing. (some may seem small, others large...its all part of the job!)

• stamping hall passes for kids who come to meet with us during class
• orientation and interviews for kids and their parents newly arrived on our case load
• trips to juvenile hall to interview any kid who has been arrested
• court appearances when my supe gets subpoenaed to testify
• writing progress, violation and pre-plea (post-arrest) reports.
  
• filing paperwork (some of our kids' files are foot thick...yes 12 inches)
  
• filling out drug-testing paperwork
• navigating the school's attendance, grade and student information computer systems
• lunch-time supervision
  
• calling parents to inform them of situations with their child (sometimes this includes putting my spanish skills to the test, as my supe is not bilingual)
  
• putting in case-notes charting any interaction we have with the kids into the probation case management system online.
  

Basically, my job is awesome. I am the only white girl, and sometimes I get funny looks from the kids who wonder why I'm there...but I speak with some authority and they respect me pretty well =)

If there are aspects of my job that you would ever care to hear clarification about, don't worry, if i ever see you in person, I will probably end up talking about it eventually.

So while you may not understand how a young, Christian white girl could be called to this field, I ask that you trust me into the strong, capable hands of our Father.
But please pray. Pray that I will not lose sight of God as I enter this field of darkness. Pray that I can keep hope alive as many of my cases will end with my kids in prison or dead. Pray that I will know if I am supposed to try another career path. Pray for my physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. Pray for my family as they have been major supporters, even though I know that seeing their lil' girl go into this field was an adjustment for them at first.

"He's given me a passion for all the little knuckle-heads out there that everyone else has given up on. They call me crazy, but I love it"
-Miss G. (my inspiration and mentor)