Living Water: An Ever-Flowing Source of Holiness

There is something so deeply soothing about fresh, clean, natural mountainside running water. I think back to the many vacations spent in Colorado and the frigid mountain streams near campsites I stayed with my parents.

With water as clear and cold as physically possible, seeing perfectly the size and shape of each unique pebble covering the riverbed below the clear surface. Those rocks slowly hewn and perfected over the earth’s summation of time and a never-ending source of running water.

If each individual rock represented each unique soul upon this planet, what would be the source of every soul’s special process of molding?

Would it be the pure and clear water from a fresh mountain stream?

Or perhaps the molten lava of an active volcano. Maybe the gentle moonlight shining upon an emerging nocturnal soul. Or a powerful wave of saltwater continually rushing over a human surface to create a sought-after vision of pearlescence.

Some have less natural guiding forces, chasing the always dangling carrot of the green dollar, trying to obtain the never-ending moving target of success, gaining a sense of comfort from that next insatiable bite, or finding solace in the bottom of an amber-colored whiskey glass.

We all have vices, whether we realize it or not. Some allow us to function, others are daily killing a piece of our soul, yet still others may be the most healthy habit we have ever known.

Water, to me, is healing.

Whether it be a numbing steamy bath after a long day on my feet, an ice-cold drink after a sweat-pouring workout, perhaps a fruit-infused cold beverage after doing yard work, or a simple glass of water that is immediately cooled by the modern convenience a working ice-maker affords.

No matter what form water takes, my all-time favorite is the memory of sticking my hands and feet in a chilly mountain stream.

The water flowing so swiftly, perfectly clean, as it comes straight from the mouth of a rushing, white-capped waterfall.

Feeling the chill, hearing the roar of rushing water, knowing this particular vessel carries a life force for all the creatures that dwell in its midst. Living, flowing water. The most peaceful song of nature I can fathom.

And that soothing memory brings me to the spiritual water only Jesus can provide.

The type of water that offers not only deep refreshment, but everlasting life within the most amazing of paradises.

The same water Jesus offered to the woman at the well. The same water in which Jesus shared an example of immersion from sin.

The loving, breathing, soul-cleansing water that gently washes the dirtiest of hearts.

Of course, we know it isn’t the water itself that holds the supernatural element of peace, forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life.

It is the source, the Son of Man, the only perfect human to ever grace the same surface of earth that has stood for thousands of years.

His living water is unlike any for which we seek. It quenches the deepest desire for precious peace, hoped-for joy, and the only true fulfillment we will ever know, this side of Heaven.

Seek this water from its ever-flowing source of holiness, and your thirst will, at long last, be fully quenched.

I love the symbolic meaning of water in Jesus’ ministry.

The one element we cannot live without.

Nourishment to the body, mind, and soul.

The very essence of life in its most simplistic and pure form. With a soothing sound and a nurturing taste, it carries a life-force of magic we may never fully understand.

While simultaneously symbolizing the greatest gift we will ever receive, the washing away of our human self and the full connection to our Savior’s life-saving grace.