Quenched

Are you thirsty today? I think that most of us walk around thirsty deperately attempting to get our thirst quenched and satisfied. We try to find this cool, tasty, water in many places. We attempt to let our ego take control and life by the system that is the world's. This system says that you will be quenched if..................... (You fill in the blank). We listen to our ego which has taken on the system of the world that tells us this is the truth. We will be quenched if we make a certain amount of money. We are quenched if we have aquired enough stuff. We will be quenched if we have the right kind of career. Our thirst will be satisfied if we ......................... We are told by ourselves, the world, and our ego that if we get that need fulfilled we will never thirtst again. Guess what?! We all wake up every morning with ourselves, the world, and our ego saying it is thirsty and demanding more! It never gets quenched! We have to keep drawing out of that well over and over again!

Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."
The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this 'living water'? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?"
Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

John 4:10-14

I love the word "artiesian" that it used here. Artesian wells are wells made by boring into the earth till the instrument reaches water, which, from internal pressure, flows spontaneously like a fountain. They are usually of small diameter and often of great depth. An artesian aquifer is a confined aquier containing groundwater that will flow upwards out of a well without the need for pumping! There is no need to keep drawing water out of the well, because if flows out by itself! Jesus is offering us a spring that will continually quench our thrist and it comes from within. When we are willing to dig deep enough into our "stuff" and into our own inner brokenness, a spring of life will flow out.

We all too often like to keep burying our "stuff" with the things our ego demands to be quenched, all the time we are covering up the spring of living water that is right there within us! It is hard work to dig, painful at times, but the challenge is rewarding because our life is changed from one of selfishness to one of giving and loving. Our life, our perception changes to that of compassion because as we understand our own struggles - the struggle to be kind, to lessen worry, to lessen frustration, to increase faith, to increase love - we begin to understand the struggle of others. When we understand their struggles and love them, we are no longer looking to our own interest, the kingdom of God comes alive! By giving love, kindness, and care we get all these in return. When the spring of living water comes out of us, we help it come out of others and we all have a continous spring coming from us! Who could thirst then?!

Namaste'