Jesus’ Water Works! Devotions from Time of GraceSample

Water is work

Back in 1697, an English pastor named Henry Maundrell found a well of water in the middle of ancient Israel. He measured it to a depth of 105 feet. Can you imagine how much work getting that water must have been? According to Google, a gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. Picture yourself standing on top of an eight-story building, 100+ feet above the ground, hauling up your 8.34 pounds (plus bucket weight) as a tattered rope rubs against your raw hands. Ouch.

Maundrell’s well is believed by many to be the very spot where Jesus made a stunning promise to a woman who was tired of working for water. Jesus smiled, “The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Jesus’ “water” isn’t like well water that you have to get to. It’s something that springs up to get to you. It’s not work, but a gift from God.

That was Jesus’ picturesque way of describing eternal life. The love of God, acceptance of God, peace of God, grace of God, family of God, inheritance of God, and every other spiritual blessing aren’t hauled up by your own spiritual strength. Instead, they are like a spring that gushes up to get to you and constantly satisfies your soul. Eternal life is not by works but simply by the grace of God. That is why Jesus’ water quenches the thirst of our tired souls. And that is why we love him so much.