Living WaterSample

After hours or even days of drilling, drillers are able to splash out a lot or a very little amount of water. Here, the drilling of a borehole is so successful that a lot of water gushes out. ©2014 World Vision, photo by Collins Kaumba

Water for the whole person

Jesus heals a man at the pool – John 5

The waters of Bethesda were normally meant for purification. The pool was likely a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath where people ceremonially washed away their impurity.

But this mikveh was different. The waters were thought to have healing powers. People with all sorts of ailments would gather, like the disabled man in John 5—all hoping for the same thing. Whether anyone was ever healed by the waters or whether it was a folk legend that kept people coming to the pool, we don’t know.

When Jesus arrived, the disabled man barely looked up. He was fixated on the waters, which lay just beyond reach. The pool was all he could see—well, that and the crush of people who always managed to get there first. The man didn’t realize that if he would simply turn around, he’d be face to face with the One who had the power to heal any infirmity.

Even after Jesus’ miracle, the man had no idea who had healed him (5:13). It was only after another no-so chance encounter in the temple that his eyes were truly opened. Now that he was healed; he could see Jesus for who he really was.

Pastor Andoni Phili is a district evangelist serving around 50 churches in southern Zambia. Like many pastors in the area, the 51-year-old doesn’t earn a salary. He freely shares living water with people.

Since 2010, Pastor Andoni has worked alongside World Vision in Zambia—a partnership devoted to meeting more than just physical needs. Helping community members access life’s basic necessities, including water, has cleared the way to share God’s love. “I have evangelism partners with World Vision,” Andoni says.

World Vision has brought clean water to the community, digging boreholes close to people’s homes and training community members how to maintain them. Doing so has opened doors for Andoni to share the living water of Jesus. Simply put, when someone doesn’t have to spend hours each day fetching water, they have more time for other things. Things like going to church.

Just like the man beside the pool of Bethesda had to be healed before he could see Jesus properly, we must serve others without precondition before we can invite them to experience spiritual transformation.

“I have seen it with my own eyes,” Andoni attests. “When you combine spiritual and physical development, change comes more quickly… Physically they are satisfied. Now [they] can participate in spiritual things.”