I Thirst

 "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished and so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19: 28-30

    Sitting up at two a.m. for a drink of water, the words Jesus said on the cross suddenly came to my mind: "I thirst." Odd that, of all the stripes and deep wounds He suffered during the horrors of crucifixion, it was His deep thirst of which He spoke. 

    Perhaps His mind drifted to a happier time in Cana when He lifted His glass with the others in a toast to the bride and groom, partaking of the wine that had been water. Or, maybe He recalled that hot, sunny day in Samaria when He sat at Jacob's well and asked a woman for a drink, using water as an object lesson. Most likely, though, our Savior thirsted for the souls of the lost to kneel at the cross in repentance as the beatitude came to mind: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) 

    I am so grateful to have an ample supply of fresh, clean potable water; I drink it all day long and even in the wee hours of the night. But I am even more thankful for the Living Water drawn from the bottomless love of Christ. When I wake, my soul requires the daily saturation of God's presence, which He reveals in the Bible, prayer, music, sermons, fellow Christians and the beauty of creation.

    Only Jesus can quench your thirst. He's the real thing.

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55: 1-2