Water - life giving or not?

Debbie Chaloner posed this question on Sunday 19th August.

We were given a number of water bottles to help us think about the theme - an empty bottle, a bottle of local tap water, a bottle of Scottish Mountain water, dirty water, salty water and water polluted by plastic. We were also shown sparkling water shook up so that it overflowed when poured into a glass - the fizz made it living.

We studied Exodus 15 v22-27 entitled Bitter Water. Shortly after Moses led the Israelites through the parted Red Sea they went into the desert of Shur and walked for 3 days without finding water. Then they came to Marah where there was water so bitter they could not drink it. Moses prayed and the Lord told him to throw some wood into the water and it became sweet enough to drink. After receiving laws from the Lord to live by they continued to Elim where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees.

The Israelites were desperate for water and they were given water and eventually they receive plenty of water and food.

We moved on to think about Jesus giving us life giving water. Jesus understood the importance of water and used it in much of his healing and teaching. He spoke of quenching thirst and washing the unclean meaning this both changing the physical situation and also the spiritual.

In John 4 v5 -26 Jesus travelled through Samaria and stopped at Jacob's Well in Sychar at noon as he was exhausted and thirsty. A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink even though it was forbidden by Jewish Law for him to use the same cups as a Samaritan. In verse 9 The Woman asked "How can you ask me for a drink?" Jesus answered, "If only you knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life giving water". "Sir", the woman said, "you haven't got a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water?"

In verse 13 Jesus answered, "Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring which will provide him with life-giving water and give him eternal life."

We need to show the life-giving water through our lives.

We then thought about our World and how it is affected by different water issues. The islands in the Maldives, the Seychelles, Fiji etc which are at risk of disappearing due to rising sea levels. Deforestation leading to areas of desert where the population have only bitter water or not enough water. Some areas of our World have monsoon rains and extreme flooding and we prayed for those flooded this week in Kerala, India. We also prayed for the people who only have access to dirty water which gives them disease and the necessity of bringing them new wells and sanitation.

Are you living water for God?