The water that keeps people alive flows from within our hearts

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The water that keeps people alive flows from within our hearts

(John 7:37-39)

Mari Ikeda

Today we continue our series on the Gospel of John, and today we are on 7:37-39. Let’s read it.

A. Belief in Jesus gives our hearts a spring that never runs dry. (7:37-39, 4:14)

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

We have another rare scene where Jesus, who rarely speaks out loud, speaks out loud to the people. He speaks to them, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” He also says, “Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Jesus has already said this same thing in chapter 4.

Considering from verse 39 of chapter 7, which we read earlier, we can understand that drinking the water that Jesus gives us refers to receiving the spirit that Jesus gives us. Therefore, if we believe in Jesus and receive His Spirit, we will be given a spring that never runs dry in us. And from that spring, water always wells up and flows outward from within us.

　What does this mean exactly? First, to believe in Jesus means to believe in the love that Jesus taught us on the cross. It is to have the conviction in our heart that it was for “me” that Jesus died on the cross. It also means not to lose hope in the midst of any situation because of that conviction. No matter how difficult the situation, no matter how helpless we are, the fact that Jesus gave his life on the cross does not move, so we can believe that God has not abandoned us, that he loves us, and that he will surely guide us. And it is not possible for us to believe that without the help of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, to believe in Jesus is to obtain, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the peace of mind that we are loved and the hope that we will never lose. And it is to have the desire to love God and to live a life of love for others. This is what it means to drink the water that Jesus gives, to have in our hearts a spring that never runs dry. From that spring, love and hope will continue to spring forth without end.

Have you ever seen spring water? It is very mysterious to see water bubbling up from the bottom of a spring or stream. When I was a child, I often followed my parents to Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, because they had regular business there. The location was close to Mt. Fuji and rich in nature, and we often stopped by the brook where the spring water was springing up. My parents’ goal was to find watercress, which was growing wild in the brook, but there was no way a child would be interested in bitter watercress. I liked to watch the spring water while my parents searched for watercress. I kept looking at the clean water coming up from the sand at the bottom of the brook, wondering why the sand and water didn’t mix, and not being able to imagine that there was water under the sand. I was also amazed that what seemed to be only a trickle of water would become a stream, then a larger river, and eventually reach the sea.

　From Jesus’ words today, I think we can imagine such a spring of water. It is the way that clean water continues to spring forth, little by little but surely, from the sands deep within our hearts. That water will enrich our own hearts and eventually flow out from us to enrich the hearts of others.

　But we are weak people. Even once we are given this spring in our hearts, the sand and stones we originally have in our hearts can bury the spring. As it is just buried, we just need to dig it back up, but the problem is that we are not aware of it. We often don’t realize that we have buried the spring ourselves, that we are suffering and that our own hearts are thirsty. Do you now have the security of being loved by God and the desire to love Him? And are you able to believe that there is hope in any situation? If you cannot say “yes,” it is because your heart is thirsty. In such a situation, all we have to do is ask God to help us. That is the only thing we should do, and it is also the only thing we can do.

　Let’s read from Isaiah 55. The first two verses.

B. If we drink from that spring ourselves, the water will naturally flow out of us. (Isaiah 55)

1. Remember we ourselves drink from the spring! (1-2)

1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.

　Jesus also cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink,” and the same thing is said here. Perhaps there are many thirsty people in this world, both in Old Testament times, Jesus’ time, and today. Also, the problem here is that we do not ask for the water that God gives us, but expect that someone or something else will give us that water, and we make empty efforts to get it.

　Jesus’ love is free love. It is a love that asks nothing from us in return and is given to us unconditionally. All we can do is ask for it, desiring to have it. It begins with acknowledging the hunger and thirst in our own hearts and humbly admitting that we have no power to do anything about it, that we only need God’s love. Thus, if we think we have to do something to get God’s love, we will never get it. Don’t you all unconsciously think that you have to do something more to be loved by God, or that God will never love you unless you change yourself more? Unless we abandon that way of thinking, we will remain eternally unfulfilled and in pain. We can only seek the water of God’s love, regardless of what we can or cannot do, regardless of what we have or do not have. But if we only do that, that water will replenish us and the spring will come back to life in us.

　Next, let us read verses 10-11 of the same Isaiah 55 chapter.

2. Then that water will surely flow out of us. (10-11)

10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

This passage teaches us that God’s word will come true, and at the same time, it prophesies that Jesus will surely fulfill God’s plan. But today, I would like to take the interpretation further and see it as something that we who believe in Jesus and drink the water He gives us will accomplish. In other words, by believing in Jesus’ love, a spring will spring up in our hearts from which the water of Jesus’ love will surely flow out. It is not in our power to accomplish this, but in God’s power. God’s love never ends empty, because it always accomplishes what God desires. Even though we have no power, if we have the security and joy of being loved by God and never cease to hope, God’s love will naturally flow outward from within us and reach those who need it. Even the smallest unreliable spring water, without mixing with sand, becomes a spring, a river, and even reaches the sea without our knowing it, eventually becoming rain or snow and watering someone’s heart. What we need is to remember to drink the water of God’s love ourselves. Then that water will surely flow outward from within us.

　And in fact, the water of God’s love, like real water, will decay if it does not keep flowing. God’s love increases in power as it is passed on from person to person. Finally, let us read about this in Isaiah 58.

C. As we pour ourselves out, that water continues to well up within us. (Isaiah 58)

9 …“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

This passage teaches that God looks after those who do justice to help those who are suffering and will meet their needs. It is the last sentence that we want to note. It says, “You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” This means that doing justice to others will be a healing and filling of the person doing it. I don’t think this indicates a simple cause and effect kind of relationship, that if we do justice, God will reward us according to our deeds. Rather, I think it teaches that more than that, our healing and fulfillment comes from helping others and sharing in their pain.

I often doubt that I am a beloved being of God. The spring in my heart is buried alive, and I sometimes struggle to dig it out and give up. The truth is, I should just stop struggling and ask God for help, but sometimes I can’t do that. At those times, God brings before me a friend in need of His love. I have to tell that person about God’s love, knowing that I myself have lost sight of God’s love. But as I do so, strangely enough, the words I speak to that person and the prayers I pray for him or her start to speak to me, and I feel the spring within me come back to life.

We are often saved by the help of others, but at the same time we can be saved by helping others. To know that someone loves us gives us confidence, but to have a desire to love someone can become a motivating force for us as well. Even if we ourselves remain unfulfilled or hurt, there are things we can do for someone else. That is what it means to share God’s love with someone. No one is perfect. Each of us has our own challenges, but we can share with others the perfect love and everlasting hope that Jesus gives us. Doing so is not only for the benefit of the person to whom we are communicating, but also for our own sake. The waters of the spring will continue to spring forth not only to hydrate our hearts, but also to reach someone through us. And by continuing to spring to reach someone, our own hearts will become “like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

Let’s end with Jesus’ words one last time. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

(Prayer) Lord Jesus, please teach us to be sure of your love in our hearts. Pour out Your Spirit and help us. When we are in pain, may we simply turn to You for help. When we feel that you do not respond, teach us that your love does not change. And in those times, teach us the joy of sharing your love with others. Cause in us the joy of being loved by You and at the same time the desire to love You. We pray in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Summary

Our power to love others and to keep hope alive is very unreliable and quickly depleted, but Jesus taught us on the cross that there is a love and hope that never runs out. We can keep that never-ending love and hope within us by believing in Jesus and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. That love and hope, like water, is essential for any person, but it must keep flowing or it will rot. Jesus’ love and hope will continue to flow even more powerfully within us as we continue to bring it to others.

For Discussion

Is your heart dried-up or well-watered?
Why can we be enriched by pouring ourselves out?