One of the most compelling stories in the gospels is Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. It highlights the counter cultural truth that the hope of the gospel is available to all who would receive it regardless of gender, ethnicity or social status. During his conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus makes a very interesting claim. He tells the woman, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”[1] Living water. What is that?
It has been an inescapable fact for all of human history that water is essential for life. In a sense, all water is “living water”, but Jesus is contrasting the water from the well with another kind of water – a water which is qualitatively different than physical water. Jesus goes on to tell the woman, “Everyone who drinks [the water from the well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This water is “living” because it is capable of actively doing something.
While we understand that water is essential for life, it is actually a passive actor in regard to life. Biological systems take advantage of the properties of water to carry out life-giving processes, but water itself does not actively function to make things alive. Physical water must be constantly supplied to an organism in order for it to continue to live. The water Christ offers permanently extinguishes a certain “thirst” and results in a person experiencing eternal life. What an astounding claim!
This metaphor used by Jesus is not just a New Testament idea. Later, Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[2] Jesus referred back to the prophets who told the people of Israel that God is their living water, that he is the source of their salvation. This is something God has always been and will always be.
The prophet Isaiah let the people know salvation from God is within their reach, if only they would take a hold of it. He wrote, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”[3] Twice the prophet Jeremiah laments how the people of Israel have forsaken God’s salvation and have rejected the “spring of living water”.[4] In one of the psalms by King David, he reflects the upwelling nature of this living water when he wrote, “For with you (God) is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”[5]
The apostle John is very clear in telling his readers that Jesus himself is the source of this living water. In the Book of Revelation, John records a promise given from an angel regarding the persecuted saints assuring them that, “the Lamb at the center of the throne (Jesus) will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[6]
It is interesting to note that the prophet Isaiah also makes a connection between water and God’s revelation to man – the word of God – which has a particular effect. He wrote, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”[7]
The apostle John echoes this idea then when he recognizes Jesus himself is the living Word who is actively doing something in the world. He wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”[8] The apostle Paul affirms this idea when he wrote, “when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”[9]
So, what does Living Water do? What I find interesting is that many of the unique properties of physical water are reflective of (not equivalent to) the ways the Living Water works in us to bring about eternal life.
One of the unique features of water is what happens when it goes from being liquid to a solid. As it does so, the water crystalizes and expands in volume. This property has the effect of breaking down rock material and eventually turning it into soil. As liquid water seeps into the cracks in rock and then freezes, it wedges the rock apart into ever smaller pieces. I think about this when I read from Jeremiah how God’s word brings about the conviction necessary in bringing the people back to God. He wrote, “’Is not my word like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’”[10]
This convicting power is also cited in the New Testament as an effect of the word of God which is “alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”[11]
Recognizing I have sinned by failing to live up to God’s standards is not very helpful unless there is a solution to my sin problem – some way to protect me from the wrath of God which I truly deserve. This makes me think about another unique property of water which is known as its specific heat – that is, its ability to absorb heat. In the physical world, this property of water helps moderate the effects of heating in both our bodies and the environments in which we live. Water can absorb a lot of heat without having a big change in temperature which would be harmful to life. In spiritual terms, Christ as our Living Water absorbs the wrath of God through his death on the cross. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”[12]
Yet another relevant property of water is its ability to act as a solvent – likely the best solvent on the planet. This is essential for living things because it enables nutrients to be dissolved in water and then transported within ecosystems and within organisms. It is this property which also allows us to clean ourselves and things in our environment. Jesus was very insistent about his role in “washing” the disciples when he said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”[13] He also rebuked the Pharisees for cleaning “the outside of the cup” when they were most in need of being cleaned on the inside[14].
Because water is a good solvent, it in effect becomes a type of catalyst. Different dissolved substances can come in contact with each other increasing the likelihood that chemical reactions may occur – it can foster chemical change. Similarly, Living Water produces a change within those who have been saved causing them to become more and more like the humans God intended us to be. The apostle Paul assures us that, “we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”[15] Likewise, in his letter to the Romans he wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”[16] Evangelist Leighton Ford once said, “God Loves us the way we are, but too much to leave us that way.”
This Living Water also has an enduring quality which I think can be likened to the adhesive and cohesive properties of water – the ability of water molecules to both stick to themselves and to other molecules. In life, this makes it possible for water to be stored in soil so that plants can have access to it. It clings to our skin when we perspire so that evaporative cooling can occur. It allows for capillary action in the vascular tissue of plants enabling water to move against the force of gravity up to the top of plants. In an even greater way, the love of God “sticks” with us: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[17]
A final parallel property is the vaporization heat of water. Physical water has the unique ability to exist in all three states of matter within normal earth temperatures. This allows water to freely move from bodies of water onto land. From wherever water falls to the ground, it can flow across the land until it goes back to the sea. Similarly, Living Water is dynamic – it is on the move. Once it enters my life, it moves to make changes wherever it is needed. But it does not stay put. That Living Water in me is intended to also flow out of me. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we minister to the needs of people around us[18]. We are also called to share the gospel of Christ and to make disciples of all nations[19].
In short, we can relate how the Living Water leads to eternal life by seeing what physical water does. The Living Water works for our salvation from start to finish. Jesus begins with breaking through our pride and convicting us of our sin – understanding our need for him. Jesus absorbs God’s wrath and washes us of our sin. Then he begins a transformation process in our lives to make us more like Him. This is an enduring work which spills over into the lives of others. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing!
[1] John 4:10
[2] John 7:38-39
[3] Isaiah 12:2-3
[4] Jeremiah 2:13, 7:13
[5] Psalm 36:9
[6] Revelation 7:17
[7] Isaiah 55:10-11
[8] John 1:1-14
[9] 1 Thessalonians 2:13
[10] Jeremiah 23:29
[11] Hebrews 4:12-13
[12] 1 Peter 2:24; see also Isaiah 53:1-12
[13] John 13:8
[14] Matthew 23:26-27
[15] 2 Corinthians 3:18
[16] Romans 12:2
[17] Romans 8:38-39
[18] Matthew 25:34-40
[19] Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-16
Cicada Song 