Drinking the Living Water

If you have ever hiked in the mountains, you know that the higher you climb, the purer the water source will be. But as the streams flow downward, they become part of the forest, and now purification tablets are needed to protect against giardia parasites which can cause giardiasis. Continuing downward, the stream merges with other streams and becomes a river.  More pollutants are added as waste flows into the river from drainage systems, and people throw their trash, dump chemicals, etc., into the water.   So what is my point?

 Meditation
John 4:10-11--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.” “Sir,” said the woman, “You don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do You get this ‘living water’?
 
When God created people, He created them in His image (Genesis 1:26,27).  Yet we know that after Adam and Eve sinned, mankind’s ability to fulfill God’s intent was marred by sin necessitating Him sending Jesus to rectify wrecked humanity. Jesus represents the pure water at the top of the mountain. When He shared with the Samaritan woman at the well, He told her she needed Him, living water, the pure solution to thirst—a condition of need. 
            
After Jesus left, entrusting His work to His disciples, multitudes of people came to know Christ and to follow Him. One church became many churches expanding around the world.  As we read Scripture, we learn that as the church grew, so did its problems.  In Jude, we read about apostates. In 2 Peter, we learn about false teachers. John warned of false prophets (1 Jn. 4) and, in his second letter, deceivers.  Paul challenged the Corinthians about divisions, immorality, and immaturity (1 Co.). He alerted the Galatians to the threat of legalism, calling out Peter by name (Gal 2:11). He mentored Timothy in spotting false doctrine (1 Ti.) and the Thessalonians about irresponsible Christians (2 Th.). Less than fifty years after Jesus departed, it is shocking how many serious challenges permeated believing congregations.  Or is it?  The further one goes from the source; the more tainted the water. 
Paul exhorted those he led, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). So long as Paul was living his life as Christ would, he was worth imitating.  Had he quit running the spiritual race or taken his eyes off Christ, he would not be one to imitate. 
            
We should understand that when we join a fellowship of believers, we are not at the top of the mountain.  The church is not living water, Jesus is living water. The church is surrounded, infiltrated, and contaminated with tainted water.  It is easy to be critical of it—to point out hypocrisy, find errors, and experience grief.  But the church is not the solution—Jesus is the solution.  When we focus on Jesus, we are drinking living water.  When we focus on the church, we are not.  Does this mean the church is bad?  No!  It means we need to discern what is unChristlike and call it out, expose it for what it is—bad attitude, tainted character, or wrong conduct.  We must also check ourselves and discern if we are part of the problem.  
            
Beware of abandoning the church because of pollution. To do so is reckless because it violates God’s will (Acts 2:42, Heb. 10:24,25, 1Jn. 1:3). It is foolish because it implies that the person avoiding the church has the maturity and skills to act alone.  And it deprives the body of the ability to change or correct what is wrong if there is no voice of warning/exhortation.
            
Drink from the source—by all means, imitate Jesus. We get Him through ingesting the Word, spending time with Him in prayer and meditation, and listening to His voice through the Holy Spirit. But don’t disassociate from fellowshipping with believers so long as they are intent on following Christ. If they lose their focus and refuse to correct what is out of balance or wrong, then find a body committed to being Christlike. Until He returns, expect that there will be problems. But there will also be solutions—be part of those. 
            
“But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life” (John 4:14).
 
Inspiration
“Personal contact with Jesus alters everything.  He meets our sins, our sorrows, and our difficulties with the one word—‘Come.’”—Oswald Chambers in As He Walked
 
©2023 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you want to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)