Fountain of Living Water
Jul 14 2023 - Eric Buresh
In a recent post, we looked at the picture of Christ coming into the world as light reaching into and overcoming our darkness. Today, I want to celebrate one of my favorite metaphors for Jesus – the Fountain of Living Water. It is dear to me. I think about this image of Jesus many times a day. The thought of Jesus as the well-spring of my life keeps me going. It keeps me cool and satisfied. And, if you make it a part of your daily thoughts, it will for you as well!
In John 4:10-14, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well and says to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” He goes on to explain that “[w]hoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” I think this might be one of Jesus’ favorite metaphors as well. Just a few chapters later in John, “[o]n the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38. As the Lord suggested, the Messiah as the fountain of living water has long been foretold. Isaiah 55:1; Psalm 36:9.
The beauty and importance of this image of Christ lies in its centrality. At the core of human existence is our great thirst for meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. That thirst drives everything in us, and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it is God’s design. But when that deep thirst is not satisfied, it is exhausting, damaging, and in the end destructive. The ultimate question of life is how we will quench, or try to quench, that thirst. Will we come to Jesus and be truly satisfied by His spiritual water where our total satisfaction in Him demonstrates His great glory? Or will we continually drink dirty, worldly, well-water and be eternally thirsty while seeking our own glory in abject futility? Fundamentally, that is the Gospel choice. The Gospel is not primarily about avoiding hell or wrath or punishment. The Gospel primarily delivers God’s gift of a new, satisfied life in Christ where there is fullness of joy and the deepest, satisfying pleasures. Will we receive that gift or turn our hearts against it? In embracing Jesus through faith-filled dependence, we discover the wellspring of Truth that lights the Way to everlasting and abundant Life.
Indeed, the Fountain symbolizes infinite abundance. It is always flowing. The fountain never diminishes or gets stagnant. In a cursed world of trials, uncertainties, and brokenness, the Living Water is always readily available to rejuvenate, revive and restore. There is always plenty. Some days, I envision Jesus’ fountain as a gentle bubbling spring of cool water. Some days, I envision it as a soaking rain falling on my dry, parched heart. Some days, I see it as a Niagra Falls cascading down in such volume I stand in awe at the grandeur, power, and intensity of His life-giving power.
The Fountain of Living Water also symbolizes a free availability to all. God made physical water vital to all living beings without discrimination and He provides for that need without discrimination. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Similarly, the life-giving water He offers is not restricted or exclusive, but is freely available to all who come to Jesus. The invitation extends to people from every nation, tribe, race, and background. The invitation extends to every type of sinner, no matter what anyone has done in the futile pursuit of their own satisfaction. I love the image of the Fountain of Living Water because, every day, it awakens my soul, it inspires me to turn to Jesus for spiritual nourishment, refreshment, and satisfaction. It is only Jesus who quenches our deepest thirst, revives our weary hearts, and gives us everything we need to walk in the everlasting abundance of His grace.