Yesterday Jesus showed Himself to be more than the sacred well where He met the woman in Samaria. While the water from this well that Jacob dug generations ago will leave you thirsty again, Jesus said, the water I give you (meaning a relationship with God lived through the Holy Spirit) will not only never leave you thirsty again but will overflow so you can share it with others.
Today, in the same setting and the same time but with a different audience, the disciples in this case, Jesus uses a similar metaphor for a different point. Rather than water which the woman was coming to draw, He uses food which the disciples urged Him to eat. And rather than a gift given to us from God, Living Water, Jesus shares with His disciples a gift they can give to God, harvesting the food God has produced.
Which of these two gifts do you need today for your own spiritual growth? Sometimes we are in need of a reminder that we have received the Living Water, the Holy Spirit, which overflows in us, satisfying our thirst for God and giving us all we need to share God with others. Sometimes we are in need of a mission, a good hard day’s work in the harvest field, so that we don’t become lazy Christians, or selfish Christians, or nominal Christians.
Take some time today and ask God to supply what you need, water or food, gift or mission, and then receive with thanksgiving. And be sure that you never go too long only quenching your thirst and not harvesting the crops – that’s one of the greatest temptations in our suburban culture.
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