If You Are Thirsty, Come...

This morning I was reading through scripture and felt I should read from John 7.  Just like every chapter in the Gospels, there is much to think about in this chapter, however after reading through the whole chapter, these following verses stood out to me, and that is one of the ways the Lord directs my thoughts, by emphasizing something when I read over it.  It is almost like the volume of the words is increased in my mind, or sometimes it is that when I finish reading a section my mind goes back to certain verses.  Here are the verses -

John 7:37-39 NIV:

[37] "On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The words that specifically caught my attention were when Jesus issued the invitation to come and drink.  It seems like this is an invitation He is renewing today.  We thirst for many things in our lives, and my belief is that at the root of it all is a thirst for Him.  We chase after significance and power, identity and acceptance, comfort and peace, full life and excitement.  All of these things can be found in Him, and are most fully realized in relationship with Him.  We turn to many things and even to each other to quench our thirst, but we always end up just as thirsty, if not more so.

Jesus is our source for life.  He is our anchor for identity.  He has called us for purpose and we are significant to Him.  He has all power and authority.  He is full of love, mercy and compassion.  He has paid for our sins and forgiveness, and offers us freedom from that which binds and sullies our lives.  He desires that we might receive the Holy Spirit as our guide, our advocate and our helper, our teacher and our source of life.

If you are thirsty for any of these things, the answer is to come to Jesus, to believe in Him, enter into a relationship with Him and receive that which flows out of Him and the Father, namely the Holy Spirit.  He will not provide just enough to quench our thirst, rather He will fill us up to overflowing.  He desires that others get splashed by that which He fills us with.

So let us come to Jesus and drink deeply and be refreshed and filled.