Thoughts for the Day

On the day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there he cried out, '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." '

Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Water is a basic necessity of life, we cannot survive without it. We wash in it, we drink it, and we clean our houses and cars with it, and on a hot day we like to swim in it if we can. We can exist without Facebook, TV, our car, but we cannot exist without Water. Up to 65% of our body is made up of water. Not only that but we must consume about 2-3 litres of water a day to stay healthy.

Jesus was attending the Temple in Jerusalem at the end of the Festival of Tabernacles when he shouted, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me". The festival commemorated the time when the people lived in the desert after leaving Egypt. When they cried out for water, God commanded Moses to strike the rock and water gushed out. To remember this time the people would live in "booths" or temporary shelters outside their houses during the festival, and many Jews still observe the custom today.

This account in St John's gospel comes before Jesus' death and resurrection, and before the disciples had received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It reminds us how important Jesus is to our spiritual life - as our bodies need water to survive, so our souls are dependent on Him for life.

Saturday 30th May, follow up thoughts

Lord Jesus,
You taught Your disciples
and those who would listen,
that they needed You in the same way
that they needed to drink water to survive.
Help us to come to You the fount of life,
so that our souls may be refreshed.
Amen.