"...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.
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.
3 comments:
i took a break to read this (all of it) at work today. and it made my day. =) so good and true and exciting! you and God go pretty well together.
...and you've just touched the surface of this "living water" topic! profound thoughts! I love the picture you give of living water flowing out of us! thx for sharing!
So! The book of John can stay inside no longer! May this be the first of many blogs!
-m
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