I was on a two-day backpacking trip with some friends many years ago. We hiked in one full day, made camp, and hiked out the next day. Somehow I failed to bring enough water for the trip. The second day was a little warm, and the final hike was up a steep hill to the parking lot where our car was parked. After having no water all day and that difficult final hike, I was very thirsty. When we arrived at the parking lot, I spied a soft drink vending machine at the corner of the lot. I made a beeline to that vending machine and got myself a cold soft drink. I don’t normally drink soft drinks, but that day I was so thirsty that I purchased two. I don’t believe I have ever tasted a drink so delicious!
Just like people get physically thirsty, they also get spiritually thirsty. The problem is that people know how to quench their physical thirst, but most people do not know how to quench their spiritual thirst. We try to satisfy that thirst with all the wrong things. Because we are fallen and alienated from God, we think that the things of this world will satisfy our spiritual thirst. But a spiritual thirst longs for transcendence, something bigger and deeper than ourselves. Only a love relationship with God will truly satisfy our spiritual thirst. It brings meaning and purpose to our lives.
This depth of love comes from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and rises from a realization that God loves me, not because I am lovable, but because God is love. Out of that realization, I am able to love God and others with a love that is meaningful. This Holy Spirit empowered love flows from a heart that thirsts for meaning and finds it in Jesus.
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)
In this passage, Jesus calls for people to come to him and receive the deepest meaning of their lives. The call of Jesus for thirsty people to drink reveals the condition of the call, the direction of the call, and the promise of the call.
The Condition of the Call
The condition of the call is spiritual thirst, “If anyone thirsts.” The if condition does not mean that we might not thirst, but if we do, we can come to Jesus. No, we all thirst, but do we recognize our thirst for what it is? Spiritual thirst is a deep longing and desire for God. We all try to fill our thirst with the wrong things that do not satisfy until the Holy Spirit helps us realize what we are truly thirsty for. We find this desire often in the book of Psalms. First, we find it in Psalm 42:1-2, “As a deer pants for the flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul pants for the living God. When shall I go and appear before God?” We also see this spiritual thirst in Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” The psalmists express this deep longing for God. But how is it satisfied?
The Direction of the Call
The direction of the call and the satisfaction of spiritual thirst is, “Let him come to me and drink.” A deep thirst has to be quenched. Jesus is the only one who can quench a spiritual thirst for God. Jesus encourages those who feel deeply this spiritual thirst, to come to him and drink. We drink from Jesus by believing in him, trusting him, and surrendering our lives to him. We experience Jesus’ love for us by our faith in him. Paul expresses this beautifully in Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” People thirst for all kinds of things. They try to quench that thirst in all kinds of ways. They have a longing, an unmet need that must be satisfied, but not for God. But those who do thirst for God will find their thirst quenched by drinking from Jesus.
The Promise of the Call
There is a promise for those who thirst for God and go to Jesus to quench that thirst. “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” For those who drink from Jesus by faith, the promise is that rivers of living water shall flow from their hearts, which is the Holy Spirit. The promise was prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. “For I will pour water on the thirsty ground; and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing in your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3). “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1). The Holy Spirit fills our hearts and satisfies our thirst. The Holy Spirit is the life-giving Spirit; he is the living water. In an arid land, water is life. The Holy Spirit is the indwelling Spirit. He lives in our hearts, causing us to be the temple of God. The Father and the Lord Jesus are always with us. The Holy Spirit is the filling Spirit. He fills us to overflowing. He fills the deepest longings of our hearts with Jesus so that we are led and empowered for every good work. Are you thirsty? Come to Jesus. Drink deeply from him, and the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with the living water of the love of God.