Drink deeply from the water of life

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." ⁶ He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

A small boy was sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later … “Da-ad …” “What?” “I’m thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?” “No. You had your chance. Lights out.” Five minutes later … “Da-aaaad …” “WHAT?” “I’m THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water?” “I told you NO! If you ask again, I’ll have to spank you!” Five minutes later … “Daaaa-aaaad …” “WHAT!” “When you come in to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?”

Now there was a little guy who was really thirsty!

We all thirst for something. We long to feel loved. We crave happiness and joy. We are desperately searching for meaning and significance. Depending on our age we want to be done with school or we want our marriage to last or we want the economy to improve or we want our health to be better.

A number of years ago, Sprite had a marketing campaign of “Obey your thirst.” (Like drinking a sugared, fizzy, lemon-lime beverage actually has the ability to quench thirst.) Many people, young or old, do obey their thirst. They drink up whatever the latest religious or political fad is around them. They live for themselves. They try to find meaning and significance as defined by Oprah, Dr. Phil or MTV. The result is an even greater thirst that seems as if it will never be satisfied.

We thirst for something far more special, gratifying and long-lasting. We want to drink deeply from the water of life that only Jesus can provide. Jesus talks about thirst in His beautiful picture of Revelation when He says, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.” Jesus doesn’t want us to quench our thirst with the pleasures, knowledge or gods of this world. He offers us the refreshing water of life – free of charge.

Sadly, there are many in our world, maybe many among us, who are parched, dehydrated, thirsting but never having that thirst quenched. We realize that something is wrong – our marriage is failing, we’re not happy at work, our children lock themselves in their room, we feel an emptiness inside so we try to fill it up with shopping, hunting, carting our kids all over, or just plain busyness.

The problem is our sin. Our sin sucks the life out of our souls so we become dehydrated. It isn’t healthy to drink only once in a while. It isn’t smart to go for long periods of time between water breaks. Every year there are cases of people dying because of dehydration. They exert themselves, do not re-hydrate, and collapse. Their bodies shut down and they die. If that can happen physically from not drinking enough water, what do you think happens to our souls when we do not re-hydrate regularly, weekly, daily with the water of life of God’s Word and Sacraments? Our souls shrivel up and die. Then, we will end up begging for someone to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool our tongue, because we will be in agony in the fire of hell. (Luke 16:24)

But God invites us to drink deeply, freely, regularly from His water of life. It is the only thing that will quench our thirst by forgiving our sin. This water of life is found in God’s Word, Baptism and Lord’s Supper. It is life in Christ’s living for us, dying in our place and rising from the grave. In the Old Testament God invited, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isaiah 55:1) In the Gospels Jesus invited, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) And now in heaven Jesus again invites, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”

This water of life is the forgiveness of sin that He won for us on the cross. It is the water of life that washes over us in our baptism. It is the feast of life contained in body and blood of the Lord’s Supper. It is the milk and meat of life that we digest in every sermon, devotion, worship service and hymn. This water of life – drink it, bathe in it, re-hydrate with it, cherish it, use it.

Jesus wants us to keep drinking deeply from His water because someday we will live in a place with no oceans or seas – only a single river. John wrote, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” This earth and sky (heaven) will be burned up, the impurities removed and God will create a new home for us to reside in. But there won’t be any water except for the River of Life flowing out from the throne of God.

John, the fisherman and second son of Zebedee, received this Revelation while in exile on the island of Patmos, a small island 5 by 10 miles off the coast of Turkey and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. The sea represented a huge, tumultuous, scary place of storms, danger and death. It kept John away from his home and the people he loved. But when the end of the world comes, all that fear, danger and all anti-Christian enemies will be gone.

Instead we will live with our Triune God and all of our fellow saints in the Holy City. We don’t have to ever be afraid of a home invasion or midnight attack. For we will live in a new place that is safe and unshakeable. John saw “saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” You may think that where you live is nice – possibly a beach or farmland, shopping around the corner or a quiet cul-de-sac. But no matter where you live, you still have to be concerned with high taxes, foreclosures, bad neighbors, etc. All of that is removed in Jerusalem, the Golden City of God. Here we have to deal with loneliness, sadness, failing eyesight, poor hearing, fear and anxiety. But you are invited to be citizens of a city where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

Throughout Revelation we are pictured on earth as fighting against the forces of Satan, syncretism, unionism and unbelief – all pouring out of the heathen city of Babylon. But we will be removed and replaced in the safe, secure and astoundingly beautiful city of Jerusalem the Golden.

Be faithful in drinking deeply from the water of life. Then you are assured that you will arrive safely in the New City of Jerusalem that your Savior has prepared for you.

A number of years ago, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum began creating some man-made islands filled with the best homes, apartments and resort hotels that money could buy. One of the Sheikh’s islands, Palm Island, is complete. Some of the cheaper shacks on the island started selling at $1.5 million. $10 million would put a person in a pretty cushy home. This was to be a modern-day Eden. However, the island has had a problem – a plumbing problem. The problem began when one of the water pipes began to leak. One leaky pipe led to others, and soon the homeowners found not a single sink, shower or toilet would work.

It was a problem which went on for days. At least one person has said, “It doesn't make much difference how much you pay for your home, if you don't have water, the place is worthless.”

Jesus said much the same thing to the Samaritan woman at the well: “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Speaking to humanity’s spiritual thirst, Jesus said He was the water that would completely and eternally satisfy. And what is the spiritual thirst that only Jesus can satisfy? It is every person’s heartfelt desire to have his sins removed; it is a hope to find peace; it is a longing to know that when his life is over, there will be hope and heaven awaiting him -- not despair and damnation.

It doesn't make much difference how much you have or what you own, without Jesus life is an unending, unmet thirst. With Him, with His living water, there is spiritual satisfaction and salvation for the soul.

So that we might have that spiritual thirst quenched, Jesus entered this world. To that end, He lived a perfect life, resisted all temptations and carried our sins with Him to the cross. Then, by virtue of His resurrection from the dead, He showed that not even death could rob us of the living water, which Holy Spirit-given faith in Him provides.

These waters of life that come from Jesus and flow around the city of God are effective for everyone, of every age, in every situation. For the convict in prison, the water of life means that though he has done horrific things to himself and others, his sins have been washed away and the river of God’s grace flows out of his heart. For the grandmother suffering from depression, the prescribed medication and visits to the counselor can be helpful and necessary, but it is the water of life that will quench her thirst to be the kind of wife, mother, grandmother that her family needs her to be. For the adult child of God saying good-bye to a dear, dying father, he can say with confidence, “I will see you again” for together they will enjoy the new Holy City of Jerusalem, surrounded by the River of Life. When a friend loses her job in this economy but isn’t worried because she knows Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, is in control, she has been refreshed with Christ’s living water.

We are really thirsty. We need these living waters. It is the water of life that we need to use regularly to re-hydrate our sin-parched souls. Drink deeply today and every day, so we may drink for an eternity from the waters of eternal life flowing from the springs of heaven. Amen.