Jesus has invited all of us to come to Him, and He promises to quench our thirst.
But He promises to do more than just fill us -- He promises to fill us till we overflow!
Let's dig in!
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:38)On the last great day of the feast, the people had gone to the Pool of Siloam, a pool that actually overflows into another pool. They had rejoiced in the ceremony of water drawing.
Now Jesus told them, I will not only water your soul. But I will make you a channel of blessing to others as well. Jesus mentioned scripture . . . we don't know for sure which passage He referred to, for He didn't quote it, but Isaiah 58:11 is a really good possibility:
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.What does that mean?
That is the blessing that we will be, to others.
When we get full of anything we overflow.
Israel in the wilderness got full of complaints and overflowed with murmuring. (Not a good thing.)
A person who is full of resentment will overflow with bitterness. (Still not good.)
A person who is full of anger will overflow with harsh words and hurtful attitudes. (So not good.)
A person full of Jesus will overflow with the fruits of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)Let's step back and look at this logically.
Before we can overflow, we have to be filled. Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit, with Christ's love and compassion for others, is everything.
Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. (I John 4:13)
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)
We may have been filled yesterday, but we live in today. Are we full of the Spirit now? Are we thirsty for more? Jesus is a never ending fountain of life. As long as we stay connected to Him we will never, ever run dry.
If we will hear His voice and come to Him, we will find satisfaction for our own souls, and we will also become a source of blessing to others!
His invitation is still open today: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” Are you thirsty? Come to Him today!
As they say, "Garbage in, Garbage out!" That is so true of how we fill our lives. If we consume discontent, envy, strife...that is what we share with others whether we intend to or not. I need to pray each morning that God will fill me to overflowing so I can wet someone else!!
ReplyDeleteI go to Him multiple times a day. Love this.
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