Come To The River

Are you thirsty?  Do you try over and over again to quench an emptiness which is never sated?

“I'm torn between myself and your truth
These cursed memories, forever seeping through
My thirst for myself left me wanting more
Till I found myself face down on your shore”

The things we do to try and quench our thirst are myriad.  We think earthly relationships with people, power or purpose will satisfy.  We look to ourselves for this filling up.

The Rhett Walker Band has become one of my go-to groups.  Their sound is a great mix of country-western, gospel and rock, all with a focus on the Message.  I love “Come To The River” because of the images it brings about being at your end, trying everything else, and God being there to refresh. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1f6fqSf8O8)

When Jesus meets the woman at the well (John 4:1-26), besides boldly professing to her that He is Messiah, He breaks down so many walls in this simple setting.  Whether it is men talking to women directly, Jews interacting with Samaritans or the lack of judgment on someone who has been married many times, Jesus approaches her as one of His own.  I love how He picks the most average people to deliver His message.  He did not come to minister to the healthy, He came to heal us who are sick and tired.

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but 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.’ ” (John 4:13)

The image of water and its power to transform and heal appear throughout the Bible.  The stories of Noah, Moses, Jesus washing the feet of His friends all speak to the healing water can bring.  Jesus’ baptism in the river and the ancient, purposeful Jewish traditions of cleanliness and its relation to holiness also bring important lessons to us.

“My restless heart, led me astray
To my selfish pride I became my own slave
But you placed a thirst in me with no drink in sight
'Cause I could not see till I saw through your eyes”

Water is meant to flow, to move and to change things.  The funny thing about water is what it can become when it sits still for too long.  Jesus does not say that the Water He offers is a quiet pool; He designates it as a spring.  Water that is not moving can become stagnant, even poisonous.  The blessings we receive from the Living Water are not meant to stay within us.  The Water is meant to flow to us, through us and onto others.  The fact that Rhett Walker uses the image of a river, and not a calm pool of water, is no accident either.

“You say, come to the river
Oh, and lay yourself down and let your heart be found
You say come to the river
Drink from the cup I pour and thirst no more”

So, are you thirsty?  Come to the river that is Jesus.  Drink that which will satisfy now and forever.  Thirst no more.