But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Jesus said these words to the Samaritan woman at the well as He was leading her to salvation. He was not talking about giving her water to drink literally, He was talking about salvation. (There are hermeneutical intricacies here that I do not wish to delv into at this time.)
There are some things to note from this verse about the living water Christ offers. 1) Drinking is optional. Jesus said "Whosoever drinketh," which means that not all people will drink it. Some will, some won't. Scripture teaches that the decision to accept the gift of salvation lies with the individual. God does not force salvation, neither does He refuse it to those who repent and believe.
2) Those who drink will never thirst again. This means that you will never be spiritually thirsty. To put it another way, those who accept salvation will never lose it. They will never have to seek salvation again, because they have it!
3) The water (the living water) that Christ gives will become a well of water springing up (like a geyser) into everlasting life, in those who drink. What does this mean? It means that the natural tendency of those who are saved will be to share their salvation with others. Discipling others and witnessing is an expectation and a requirement, not a merit badge.
Jesus told the disciples after they did everything they were supposed to do, that they should say "We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty to do." (Luke 17:10). Those who are successful "soul winners" are only doing what they are required to do. They have not gone above and beyond, neither should they boast as such. They have only done that which was their duty to do. These men and women are geysers-wells of water springing up... which is awesome... but that was God's expectation.
On the other hand, many of us fail in our duty to lead others to the Lord. Where does that put us? Many of our well springs resemble the broken water fountain at the park which barely puts out a drizzle... and you can't drink from it without putting your mouth on the spout.
I don't want to be like that anymore. I want to be a geyser! The ministry I am planning for Brownwood is being planned to impact as many people as quickly as possible.
Can I prove this was Christ's intent in these words from John 4:14? You decide. The woman went on to leave her water pot at the well, ran into town, and told everyone about Jesus. Many believed and He stayed there with them a little while before continuing on His way. She became a geyser. The disciples that were with Jesus... they were not geysers that day... but they later grew and became geysers. (Acts 8:25- "They ... preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.") The growth observed in the disciples shows us that God forgives and gives us time to grow.
Let's grow, and become geysers!
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