Church bulletin:
I doubt that any of us have lived through heavier spells of rain than those earlier in the year. One evening, our back yard began to flood. If Cameron had not discovered the dilemma around 10:00pm, the water would have come into the house. I opened the garage doors, and we swept it out onto the driveway which has a steep descent to the road. Thankfully, we were able to get the water out quicker than it came in and we were spared. A couple of suburbs away and cars were almost entirely submerged. We all saw the footage of towns such as Lismore and the complete devastation. One can only imagine the terror in Noah’s day as the flood began to unfold.
The imagery of flooding is also used in the Bible to picture the blessing of salvation. John 7:37-39, “On 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. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
We know what physical thirst is and how to quench that thirst. Many respond to soul thirst by filling their lives with things like wealth, possessions, achievements, indulgences, etc. It doesn’t work and for those who discover that it doesn’t work, Jesus provides something better – Himself. Come to Me He says, meaning believe in Me as the incarnate deity. Trust in My life, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin. Worship me as the God-man and Saviour. I will give to you My Spirit and your heart will gush with rivers of living water. It is the language of saturation. And not just water but living water (teaming with life). Christ is describing the abundance of joy, purpose, contentment, and hope that is found in Him. This soul-satisfaction emanates from the Spirit of Christ within and overflows without.
The picture is plain enough, but are we in the picture? Do we know this saturation of blessing ourselves? We use the lingo of blessing, and we give the right answers, but does the picture presented by Christ ring true for us? Or, does it fall short, and our faith is rather benign? The key to saturation is to keep coming to Christ. We drink and keep drinking. Paul put it like this – “be filled with the Spirit”, meaning continually filled (Eph 5:18). The soul falls into drought if it is not continually watered as it did for the psalmist. Psalm 42:2, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
The language of the New Covenant should be true for every member of the New Covenant. It is the language of saturation, foretold by the prophets – Isaiah 58:11, “The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Ezekiel 34:26, “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.”
Let us not talk the talk and fail to tap into the experiential reality. God does not give in half-measure. There is the deepest soul satisfaction for those who drink of Christ and continue to drink.