As followers of Jesus, we often think about coming to him to receive the living waters. We long to receive this gift that cleanses, refreshes, and quenches our thirst. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,” Jesus says. It is an open invitation to return as often as we need. It is a life-giving spring that never runs dry. We pay less attention to the end of vs. 38, where we read, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” This line reminds us that the living water of Jesus is not meant to flow into us, where we can bottle it up for ourselves. Instead, it is meant to flow through us and into the world, where others can partake of the peace, the love, the joy, and the hope that is found in Jesus. It is meant to be shared.
In what areas of your life do you feel thirsty? What would it look like to come to the living waters, to have the living waters flow both into and through you? Who, in your life, might be thirsting for a word of hope, for a sense of peace, or for an experience of joy?
Today, in prayer, commit yourself to being a channel through which the living waters might flow.