thirst quenched

John 7

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds,

"Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!

For the Scriptures declare,

'Rivers of living water will flow from the heart of those who believe in Me.'"

39 (When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit,

who would be given to everyone believing in him.

But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

As I move through my day,

or connect with people on social media,

or observe the world thru TV,

I see a lot of people who are thirsty,

don't you.

We live in a world that in the last few years has become markedly more “anything goes”.

Another axiom that has widespread impact is

“there are no absolutes other than there are no absolutes”.

But even with the ability to be & do just about anything, I don't see that many truly satisfied people.

Listen to what the people around you are saying – those at work, or the gym, or at the stores you go to, the eateries you frequent.

Watch their lives, listen to what they say, how they say it, their body language, their facial expressions.

And watch out for the things they don't say or do.

If you'll do this, I think you'll find what I see a lot of the time – people are longing for “something” & can't seem to find it.

They certainly won't seek it in Christianity – it has too much baggage right now, too much of a bad reputation.

I find it counterproductive to talk to people about Christianity or “the church”.

I do find it useful to talk about Jesus & the difference He's made in my life.

People will listen to a story, a personal experience...

not some much something we “know”,

but rather something that we've experienced,

or seen others have happen to them.

What Jesus says here is the very thing all those people around you & me want to hear...

“that longing you have, that 'thirsting' for something else?

Whatever it is you long for, you can find in Me.”

Because the connection we have with God ultimately is NOT a religion.

It is a one on one relationship with the God of the universes.

I don't follow Jesus because it's a kool religion with “pie in the sky by & by”.

I'm a Christ follower because of this person who is God called Jesus, who loves me like NOBODY else can or does.

As we go about our day today, I wonder what the impact would be if we didn't talk about “the church” or talked only about Jesus?