What on Earth is Living Water? Good Question.

I guess we better give you the background for all this, it’s rather important to the idea.

About 2000 years ago in a small village on the outskirts of the West Bank in the Middle East, a young Jewish man was tired from a long journey. He found the local village well and saw a women sitting there. At the time there was a long standing conflict between the Jewish and Samaritan people and it was unheard for people from the different nations to speak with each other. The woman sitting at the well was a Samaritan and to her surprise the man began to engage her in conversation.

“Would you give me a drink of water?” the man asked. The woman was shocked and taken aback and said, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” The man 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 any water from the well, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestors who dug this well and drank from it?” The man said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. But anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst again…not ever. The water I give will be a spring within them, gushing fountains of endless life.” The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty and won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

Clear?! Ok maybe it’s still a little muddy…

The man in this true story is Jesus Christ, a man who defied cultural boundaries and conveyed love in the greatest way possible; by giving his life for his friends. Jesus is the only man in history to claim that he was “the way, the truth and the life!”. He goes on to day that “no man may reach God except through me”. Jesus said later in the same story, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. So this Living Water is ‘God’s Spirit’, and God gives it to anyone who will ask for it. Sounds a bit too easy really doesn’t it? I mean surely it’s gotta be a little more complicated than that?
The Good News is that God loves you and wants you to know him personally, and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the thing that makes it possible to really know peace and have a deep relationship with a real and truthful God who says that he loves us and is our Father in Heaven.

Are you sure I really want this ‘Spirit’?

It’s up to you really! Another name for the Spirit of God is the Comforter, or the one who comes alongside us in our everyday lives. Basically there is a God shaped hole in every-one of us. Ever feel like your life is unfulfilled or there is something missing? Well that’s the God shaped hole. The Holy Spirit of God is the only thing that completely fills that hole (or thirst), bringing hope, love, joy and peace into your life. Down the ages people have always wanted God’s spirit, even to the extent of trying to pay for it, you just have to realise it’s yours for free if you come to Jesus.

But aren’t you Christians hung up on sin and Judgement?

As we look at the world around us we can see that something is terribly wrong. Pain, anger, illness, war and disaster stalk our planet, and we know that it isn’t right. And if we are honest when we look at ourselves we see things we wish were not there. Can it be that the problem that has caused all the bad stuff we see around us is inside us as well?

At the same time though we know there are such things as goodness, love and beauty, we can see potential and hope in this tired old planet and in it’s tired old inhabitants. That glimmer of something better you see is a glimmer of how this world was meant to be. You see, all this pain, anger, illness, war and disaster was not part of the plan, something is broken. There is an unfashionable word which describes this brokeness, people call it ‘sin’.

Back when God made the first humans they were a pretty perfect bunch, but it didn’t last. Unfortunately they decided not to trust God when he told them what was best for their lives, they thought it would be better to break the rules, and the human race has been living with the consequences ever since. It’s that heritage of disobedience and sinfulness that is at the heart of the problems in us and in the world.

So Christians are not hung up on sin or judgement, but we recognise that there is bad stuff in the world and in us which demands justice. So we all know we have sinned. The bible says that “the punishment for our sin is death” which is not good news right? The truth is that Jesus Christ died on the cross to take the punishment of the whole world, on his sholders. Through presenting himself, as God in human flesh, he paid the ultimate price of love and gave us his life for you and I. The bible puts it like this, “God so loved the world that he gave his only beloved son, so that whoever might believe in Him wont die but will live”.

The fantastic news is that the bible tells us that Jesus didn’t just die, but that God raised him from the dead. The historical facts suggest that over 700 people saw Jesus alive after his death and that his legacy lives on today through the lives of belivers.

God wants a real friendship with you. Jesus said all we have to do to receive this amazing gift is to believe in him. If you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Gods son and you speak about him, then the bible is clear…you will be saved and receive this amazing love and peace.

What about me?

Well if you’ve made it this far down the page you must think there is possibly something worth exploring in all of this. If you want this Living Water, a relationship with God and forgiveness for everything you have done wrong in your life there are several ways to go about it.

· I need to talk to someone now about all this or I want to become a Christian
Then call Premier Lifeline on 0845 345 07 07

· I’d like to talk with a few other people who also have questions about this kind of thing
Then try an Alpha Course, a safe place to go ask questions and find out for yourself if there is something in this Christianity thing.

· I am intrigued and want to find out a little more about Jesus and Faith
Then visit http://www.moretolife.org/

· I want someone to pray for me
Then use the form below and out Prayer team will have a word with God for you