110731 Hope for Creation: Water

We are mostly made up of water.  Fleshy water bags.  Why hasn’t that made it into a Hallmark card yet?

We can go weeks without food – we just get really grumpy and definitely tired.  But we can only go a period of days without water.

Everybody relates to water, which is undoubtedly why God used it as a metaphor for and even as evidence of His presence.  Pharaoh was demanding signs that the God of the Israelites was powerful.  One early sign?  The water turned to blood.  As Israel fled the army of the Egyptians, they came to the sea – trapped – but at God’s word the water parted and the people were saved.  When Israel was in the wilderness en route to the Promised Land and ran out of water, God instructed Moses to strike a rock at God’s command.  When he did, water came gushing out – the people were saved from certain, imminent death.  God had power over water, and with it, our capacity to live.

Before Jesus made the radar, John the Baptist preached powerful sermons that moved many people to repent – turn away – from their sinful patterns and choose to live in relationship with God.  Jesus began his public ministry with baptism – the immersion marked a new beginning.  When Jesus broke tradition conversing with a woman drawing water at noonday in Samaria, he piqued her interest by referring to himself as living water that satisfies forever – never running dry.  Jesus encouraged a man blind from birth to go wash his face in the pool of Siloam – known for its occasional healing powers.  He did, and could see.  Jesus was identifying himself with God as he moved around this metaphor.

Just like the Samaritan woman, we are invited to drink of this living water that will satisfy and sustain us forever.  If you haven’t yet, come and drink!  Enter into intentional relationship with God and allow his graceful presence refresh you like a hot summer’s dip in Lake Tahoe.  You don’t realize how refreshing life with God is until you enter into it.  Take a drink!  Better yet, take the plunge!

But we’re not simply invited to be water-snobs, having found our favorite spring in Jesus.  We are called to express our love of the source of our sustenance by offering it lavishly, unselfishly to any and all who are thirsty.

In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus finds himself have dinner at the home of a Pharisee.  Somehow, an immoral woman slipped through the front door and began anointing Jesus with extremely expensive perfume, and washing his feet with tears – water from her eyes.  The Pharisees, of course, only saw an immoral woman intruding on their fancy dinner.  But Jesus saw an act of worship.  He railed on the Pharisees for not showing basic hospitality in offering Jesus water to wash his feet.  He identified the source of the woman’s generosity: she had received grace from God and could not help but express her gratitude through service.

Jesus makes a marvelous statement: our loving service is an indicator of our understanding of just how wonderfully and fully God has loved us.  It’s like the more in touch we are with the love of God in our lives, the more likely we are to give ourselves away.

Right now in Somalia, people are dying of famine.  There’s no food because they are in a drought.  The drought exacts an unbearable toll because their country doesn’t have the infrastructure to provide water from great distances when needed.  We just find a water fountain somewhere.  They walk miles to get dirty water that carries more than they bargained for.

Matt Damon realized his fame wasn’t simply meant for his own enjoyment, but that he could do something about it (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/157/can-this-man-save-this-girl).  He has partnered with other to create www.water.org – an incredibly strategic initiative to help “dry” communities enjoy sustainable wells.  You can hear him speak about his efforts at the Clinton Global Initiative here: http://youtu.be/ZX7DmZNbVhQ.  The point is this: he realized that he could do something with the resources he has – his fame, his money, his influence.

What can you do?  Why would you?

It seems to me that if we spent time walking around with Jesus back in the day, we would have found ourselves serving thousands of people from the inexhaustible well of God’s love.  We would be helping in practical ways, not just telling people the God loves them.  For some, it would be helping them just get water.  When we walk with Jesus today, it’s no different.

So the question is, in light of God’s giving you an endless supply of living water, how will you express your joyful gratitude?  By helping fund projects that help others get water?  By conserving water in your home so there’s enough to go around?  By opting not to buy bottled water which increases the use of petroleum, and choosing instead to filter your own water (for us water snobs) at your home or carrying around a filtered water bottle that can be used over and over again?

May every sip of clean, delicious water cause you to rejoice that we have such a luxury.  And may every sip cause you to remember the much more profound water we have been given by God in Jesus Christ – the living water.  May that cause you to give generously and with gratitude in a multitude of ways that spreads life wherever you go.