So Kingdom Lifers, for the past few weeks we've all been busy. I mean really busy. Almost crazy busy.
Kids to chauffeur. Commitments to keep. Jobs to commute to. Homes to maintain. Friends to connect with. Issues to deal with it... it just never seems to stop.
And now, with the holiday season upon us, we ramp everything up yet another impossible notch.
And sometimes... for a rare moment, in the midst of it all... we stop and realize that we are weary. Tired. Worn down and worn out. The temptation is strong to turn off the phones, log off Facebook, close the blinds, and tune out for an hour, a day or even, for the lucky few, an entire week.
Jesus was well acquainted with weariness. Part of the high price He paid for putting on our humanity was the need for regular rest and recovery from the ordinary demands of life and the extraordinary demands of ministry. In John 4 we find a weary Jesus at an isolated well - craving a tall drink of water but without even a common pot to scoop some up with. And now, through dehydrating eyes, he glimpses a mirage... a stranger approaching ... from the wrong gender, from the wrong race, with the wrong reputation, at the wrong time of day.
What would you do?
Well... that might depend on how thirsty you are!
You can see how Jesus dealt with the situation in the rest of the John 4. Although we never learn whether he ever got that desired drink of water, we do know that His thirst after righteousness was filled (Matthew 5:6). And that's not all! The deep emotional thirst of the desperate Samaritan woman... and the spiritual thirst of her community - all were satisfied as they drank freely from the Water of Life Himself.
It is sobering to think about what would have happened if our Lord had used His deep weariness and urgent thirst as an excuse to rebuke, ridicule, disrespect or ignore the infamous Samaritan woman that day. Any of these responses might have been justifiable given who He was, who she was, and what He was feeling.
But our Saviour's thirst for righteousness - as evident in His conversation with the Samaritan woman, as evident in John the Baptist's proclamation that He MUST increase, as evident in His conversation with Nicodemus, as evident in His clearing of the temple - consistently overrode any personal discomfort He may have been feeling.
So, as the year approaches its close, perhaps the question to ask yourself is, "How thirsty am I? Do I hunger and thirst after righteousness? Am I seeking first God's kingdom? Does my life reflect spiritual priorities or physical comforts? Could I put up with extreme fatigue and dire thirst for a while, if it might help eternally quench the spiritual thirst of someone else?"
Coke got it wrong. The "Real Thing" is Christ. In fact, He is the "only thing" that can satisfy my thirst, your thirst and the thirst of those around us.
The question remains...How thirsty are you?
Selah.
Kids to chauffeur. Commitments to keep. Jobs to commute to. Homes to maintain. Friends to connect with. Issues to deal with it... it just never seems to stop.
And now, with the holiday season upon us, we ramp everything up yet another impossible notch.
And sometimes... for a rare moment, in the midst of it all... we stop and realize that we are weary. Tired. Worn down and worn out. The temptation is strong to turn off the phones, log off Facebook, close the blinds, and tune out for an hour, a day or even, for the lucky few, an entire week.
Jesus was well acquainted with weariness. Part of the high price He paid for putting on our humanity was the need for regular rest and recovery from the ordinary demands of life and the extraordinary demands of ministry. In John 4 we find a weary Jesus at an isolated well - craving a tall drink of water but without even a common pot to scoop some up with. And now, through dehydrating eyes, he glimpses a mirage... a stranger approaching ... from the wrong gender, from the wrong race, with the wrong reputation, at the wrong time of day.
What would you do?
Well... that might depend on how thirsty you are!
You can see how Jesus dealt with the situation in the rest of the John 4. Although we never learn whether he ever got that desired drink of water, we do know that His thirst after righteousness was filled (Matthew 5:6). And that's not all! The deep emotional thirst of the desperate Samaritan woman... and the spiritual thirst of her community - all were satisfied as they drank freely from the Water of Life Himself.
It is sobering to think about what would have happened if our Lord had used His deep weariness and urgent thirst as an excuse to rebuke, ridicule, disrespect or ignore the infamous Samaritan woman that day. Any of these responses might have been justifiable given who He was, who she was, and what He was feeling.
But our Saviour's thirst for righteousness - as evident in His conversation with the Samaritan woman, as evident in John the Baptist's proclamation that He MUST increase, as evident in His conversation with Nicodemus, as evident in His clearing of the temple - consistently overrode any personal discomfort He may have been feeling.
So, as the year approaches its close, perhaps the question to ask yourself is, "How thirsty am I? Do I hunger and thirst after righteousness? Am I seeking first God's kingdom? Does my life reflect spiritual priorities or physical comforts? Could I put up with extreme fatigue and dire thirst for a while, if it might help eternally quench the spiritual thirst of someone else?"
Coke got it wrong. The "Real Thing" is Christ. In fact, He is the "only thing" that can satisfy my thirst, your thirst and the thirst of those around us.
The question remains...How thirsty are you?
Selah.
