“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13,14 NIV).”
I think this text contains one of the most incredible teachings of Christ. When you read it in the Koine Greek you begin to see the play on words Christ was using.
The Greek word that he uses for “welling up” is in a very special tense. It is actually in a tense that we do not even have in modern English. It is in the “middle” tense. Let me explain.
In English, we have the “active” tense. For example, “He threw the ball.” We know who threw the ball. He did. And then there is the “passive” tense, “The ball was thrown.” This is a little bit mysterious. We’re not certain who threw it. Finally, there is the Greek “middle” tense, which would be like saying, “The ball threw itself!” Now you can understand why we do not have this tense anymore. We can’t have basketballs or baseballs throwing themselves! We can barely keep track of them as it is!
Jesus tells this Samaritan woman that if she drinks the “water” that he offers, that it will become a spring that wells itself up. There is no controlling it. It’s got a mind of its own. Jesus said that if you drink the “water” that he offers that you’re in for an uncontrollable chain reaction. You are going to overflow whether you like it or not. It’s coming out!
Now this is where Jesus answers hundreds of your spiritual questions with this one phrase. Do you want to feel spiritually full? Drink the water. Do you want to be a positive influence that changes the world around you? Drink the water.
I know your next question, “What is the water, and how can I get some of it?”
“‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (John 7:37b-39 NIV).
That’s it. It’s not as complex as some try to make it. Do you want to connect with the overflowing power of God? Then believe in him and receive the Holy Spirit. Don’t map out all of the things that you have to do to make yourself worthy of service. Drink in his Spirit right now. I’m serious. In fact, if you’re willing to pause for a moment right now and ask him to, God will dowse you from the inside out! And that will bring you much hope and joy today.
Wishing you faith for today,
Roy
