Words Creating Space

“Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:9-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.1.6-9.NLT

“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)”
John 7:37-39 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.7.37-39.NLT

What does it mean to be human? As we age, we feel this question more acutely. Scripture reminds us of how we were created. It addresses not only how the physical world came into being but reminds us of the spiritual element that is behind and within all things. The God Who separated the water from the land over all the earth, creating rivers and seas, also causes rivers of living water to flow within us. We need this living water in all seasons of our lives, but especially as we age, to fill us with hope and reunite us with our true selves.

The nature of Jesus’ living water is that it is self-replenishing- it never runs out and does not lose its life-giving quality. It is spiritual and supernatural. Jesus uses common earthly elements in order to describe spiritual precepts that reside under His power. At the Fall, the physical and spiritual realms severed, and in this post-Fall world we now occupy, the connection between the two is often cloudy. It is a fight to hold onto and distinguish true life, in which we are united to God’s good intentions for us, from the marred, sin-stained version we currently inhabit. It is tempting to call the life we now experience, the one where tragedy strikes, where conflict divides – and is just plain messy – “real life”, but the opening chapters of Genesis paint a far different picture, and call us back to a first reality, a prior reality – one that is true, good and more real than what we currently experience on earth.

As we care for aging parents, our lived reality threatens to dim God’s first reality for us. It is extremely hard for us to see our parents undergo injury, surgeries, and overall decline while also holding onto the assurance of what will be for them as well as for us. As caregivers, our lived reality is complicated by a dance we have with our own mortality as we occupy a front row seat to our loved ones’ physical and mental decline. We are the next generation and we, too, will not be spared this same decline. How do we begin dancing with a new partner, and affirm the life we actually were made to occupy? 

Jesus has the water that we were made for. The reason we react so strongly against pain, injustice and the everyday challenges of living in a fallen world is that we were not made for it. These aspects of earthly life run counter to the life God originally had for us – which was to be part of an eternal dwelling in which He would constantly replenish us, where we would be solely steeped in His pure goodness. We need to use everything at our disposal to drink in God’s renewing presence in the here and now. It is hard, as it is this quality of God’s character, His goodness, that we most often doubt.

So today, in this second week of Advent, commit to drinking in the reality of what God had originally planned for you, steep yourself in His goodness, and in the process, be reunited with your true self. Celebrate the gift of Jesus, your provision of living water. Once you do, you will find that you will overflow with real life, which will splash on others and encourage them to grow into this true reality with you.