John 7:37-38. [Jesus said], “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.’”
As I reflect on this passage I am reminded of how water
plays a role in stories from the bible and is an essential part of our lives.
When I tell the baptism story to families preparing for baptism, I pour water
into a bowl and say, “This is the water of creation. It is also the water
people walked through to freedom, the water Jesus was baptized in, and the
water you were or will be baptized in.” We sing about wading in the water,
Moses was saved in the waters of the Nile, we wash our feet in water, and so
much more. I believe these references to be the “flowing rivers of living
water, out of the hearts of believers.” Yet this passage also makes me wonder.
I wonder about those who are thirsty. Who are the thirsty ones? “Let the one
who believes in me drink.” Who are the ones who do not believe? Do they remain
thirsty and are never satisfied? What flows out of the non-believers’ hearts? I
want to believe that all may drink who are thirsty. What if I was the
one wondering or questioning? While I feel fairly safe in knowing that rivers
of living water flow out of my heart, I am concerned about those who are
searching for their beliefs, yet are still thirsty. Let them be satisfied in
their thirst and come to believe in a Jesus who freely loves. This is the Jesus
I love and who satisfies my thirst.
—Tammy
Waddell
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