Needing water, finding life

What makes you feel alive?
What is your greatest accomplishment?

Those questions have plagued every man, woman, and child for all of human history.  We go to great lengths to “feel alive”, don’t we?  On one end of the spectrum, some of us become adrenaline junkies – whether that means climbing actual mountains, defeating obstacles, or pushing our bodies to the limit.  However, on the other end of the spectrum, some of us take the escapist route from these questions.  We dislike failure so much that we flat-out avoid challenges or potentially difficult situations.  We may even try to hide in things like our job, our homes, or even drugs and alcohol.  Due to life’s circumstances, whether we’ve been responsible for them or if they just happened to us, we can shut down our desire for life-fulfilling, great-accomplishments. 

Of course, we can still recognize passion, drive, and accomplishment in others.  We just don’t believe it’s in the cards for us…but deep down, I think we still desire it.  If only just a little…

During His travels, Jesus met a woman who had resigned herself to the life of an outcast.  Too many things had gone wrong for her.  I think it’s safe to say that her younger self would not have predicted that this is how her life was going to go…but that didn’t stop Jesus from speaking with her:

John 4:7-10
A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
“Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, because His disciples had gone into town to buy food.
”How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked Him.  For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and Who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him and He would give you living water.”

Water was crucial to surviving in the arid climate of Bible times.  There were no city water lines or taps of running water.  They needed water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking, so having a good source of water was critical to good health and basic survival.  But due to its scarcity in some areas, you had to get water from wherever you could – a nearby pond, stream, spring, or draw it up from a well.  The Samaritan woman was coming to Jacob’s well in order to get the water she needed to sustain her life.

Jesus’ analogy is brilliant.  On a literal level, “living water” is a relatable expression that refers to the much sought-after fresh spring water.  While a stagnant pond would do, it was not preferable.  The best option would be water that is fresh and moving.  It tastes better and is better for you.  That kind of water is alive and gives life.

Although Jesus is steering the conversation into spiritual matters, she’s still focused on the literal drink:

John 4:11-12
“Sir,” said the woman, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep.  So where do you get this ‘living water’?  You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you?  He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”

Did you notice how she offers a slight taunt/challenge?  You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you?  He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.  Her statement seems to imply that Jacob’s well is still working to this day, btw…so…is your ‘living water’ great enough to top that? 

She is still thinking of Jesus’ living water as something physical.  He has no bucket and the well is deep, so she chides Him with a question about His greatness.  Oh, how often we mock what we don’t understand.  We define greatness by physical accomplishments and how long something lasts on earth after we die.  However, Jesus’ great offer goes further than just this temporal world:

John 4:13-14
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again.  But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again.  In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

Jesus’ living water is great enough to quench our deep-seeded thirst and produce eternal life in us, after just one drink.  Complete fullness, no longer unfulfilled.  Living an absolutely real and genuine life…for now and throughout all eternity.  This is what Jesus was offering her.  This is what Jesus offers to all of us.

Could there be anything greater?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Pleasing others, for their good

Think of a major accomplishment in your life.  To get there, you had to work hard.  Perhaps you worked for a long time, even years.  Significant progress was made, and you know – more than anyone else – how much effort and time and worry and late nights went into finally “arriving.”

Maybe your mountain is a promotion or tenure.  Maybe it’s a high school or college degree.  Maybe it’s the applause of your peers, the community, or even your family.  We strive and work toward many noble goals in this life – financial freedom, career advancement, raising a family, business success, doing adult-things and doing them well.

Whenever we get to the point where we feel like “we’ve arrived”, there’s a seemingly innocent urge that sneaks into our minds.  While we relish the moment and reflect on the work that got us there, there is also a subtle tug to coast (just a little) and take it easy.

Now, don’t misunderstand me…rest is good.  Rest is Biblical.  God rested after six days of creation.  However, when rest is complete, we will have to make a choice – will we allow our rest to become self-indulgent, or will we face the difficult question of what to do next?

As Paul was finishing up his letter to the believers in Rome, he touched on several practical issues.  He approached these issues from two sides –  from those believers who had already arrived at maturity and those who had not yet matured.  We find that kind of mixed company in the church today also.  Here, Paul talks about the responsibility of those who have developed a strong relationship with God:

Romans 15:1-2
Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves.  Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, in order to build him up.  For even the Messiah did not please Himself.

When we have a mature, developed relationship with God, it is not time to be self-centered.  God doesn’t want us to sit around being full of ourselves.  Rather, He wants us to leverage our development in a way that pleases our neighbor. 

And this kind of pleasing isn’t about just making them feel happy, either.  We are to purposely act for their good, encouraging them and building them up so they can experience and live out the same kind of relationship we have with the Father.

Honestly, even for someone who has walked with God for a long time – developing others is hard.  Building up a fellow believer can be really messy sometimes, it’s not a give-advice-once-and-be-done kind of thing.  In case we have any question as to what that looks like, Paul says that the model for the mature believer to follow is Christ’s example.  Jesus found motivation to continue on, complete His mission, and please His Father by looking ahead to the mission’s end result.

A few verses later, Paul points his audience toward the end result of building up their fellow believers:

Romans 15:5-6
Now may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you agreement with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a unified mind and voice.

That’s the goal here, humanity’s created purpose – to glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and for us to do so with a unified mind and voice.  We who are strong and mature are to bear with those who haven’t made it yet.  Not just to tolerate them, either.  After we build them up to maturity, together we can all give God the glory He deserves.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Passing the torch

We won’t get to accomplish everything we want to do in this life.  There will be activities and achievements which will escape our grasp.  Sometimes we will be held back by our own decisions, for better or worse.  And yet other times, it will be God’s choice that the task should be handed off to someone else.

As David was nearing the end of his life, he looked at his beautiful palace and lavish amenities.  David compared his living situation to the tabernacle of the Lord, which was still in the same tent-configuration that Moses had commissioned during Israel’s travels through the desert before entering the Promised Land.  David wanted to rectify this gross discrepancy.  He desired to honor the Lord with a proper place of worship, with a design that expressed the greatness of the Lord.

Although David desired to do a good thing, God didn’t want him to do it.  Instead, that project would be given to his successor.

1 Chronicles 22:6-10
Then he summoned his son Solomon and instructed him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.  “My son,” David said to Solomon, “It was in my heart to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, but the word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars.  You are not to build a house for My name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me. 

But a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest.  I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.  He is the one who will build a house for My name.  He will be My son, and I will be his father.  I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ”

David desired to do a good thing for God and he was called “A man after God’s own heart”…but he was still told “No.”  That had to have stung.  David could have stopped his desire right there, thrown up his hands, and basically told his young protégé “Good luck with that.  Apparently God says that it’s your job, not mine.” 

Instead, he takes the time to encourage Solomon:

1 Chronicles 22:11-13
“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as He said about you.  Above all, may the Lord give you insight and understanding when He puts you in charge of Israel so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.  Then you will succeed if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances the Lord commanded Moses for Israel.  Be strong and courageous.  Don’t be afraid or discouraged.”

But David didn’t give Solomon only instruction and well wishes.  He also gave Solomon a massive head start in gathering materials and resources for this significant task:

1 Chronicles 22:14-16
“Notice I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord – 3,775 tons of gold, 37,750 tons of silver, and bronze and iron that can’t be weighed because there is so much of it.  I have also provided timber and stone, but you will need to add more to them.  You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron – beyond number.  Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

David couldn’t do what he wanted to do for God, because God had designated that accomplishment for someone else.  Instead of sulking or giving up on his desire, David trusted God’s plan and wisely rerouted his energies into mentoring and assisting his protégé.

One of the ways God keeps a mentor’s ego in check is to tell him or her “No.”  We need to exercise trust and humility when those moments come.  If we desire to do a good thing, but God prevents us from doing so, then we can trust that God has something greater in mind.

When our mentor hands us a significant task or ministry, we also need to exercise trust and humility.  We may even believe that our mentor is better suited for the work than we are.  However, when God signals that it’s time to pass the torch, we must trust His timing and go for it.

Keep Pressing,
Ken