THIRSTING

In John chapter 7 Jesus walks up on the most important day of the great feast and yells out

 "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."

We have been here in Mozambique now for three months. Recently we spent four weeks in the capitol city about an 18 hour drive south of us. The purpose was to study the Portuguese language so as to communicate the kingdom more effectively. Though very grateful for the opportunity there, while driving back last week on the long road I saw things that would show me how to communicate the kingdom far better than any amount of language study. In just the first three hours that Sunday morning there were hardly any cars on the road, but there was person after person walking. Moms dressed in their only pair of clean clothes, the youngest of the young walking bare feet carrying things or even their own siblings who are often only a few years younger. Wise grandmas carrying grandchildren and small fruit as gifts to give to those they will see at the end of their long walk. Even though they might not have eaten for the last two days. For three hours I watched person after person of all ages and I mean all ages walking and walking. But where? I listened to a song playing in the car with the lyrics "....I'm walking through a garden full of burning bushes, but looking up to heaven for a sign."

This passage from John 7 hit my heart as I was experiencing my own Sunday church service right in the back seat and realized these faceless, priceless ones were all walking to quench their thirst to draw close to God. Step after step just to hear the word of God. Who can know how far some of them walked that day. This begged the question all day....how far would I walk? How thirsty am I.....I mean really?

There in the temple that day was Jesus standing and declaring for anyone who is thirsty and wanting to believe to come and receive rivers of living water that would flow from them! In the west where I am from, many people on that Sunday that I was driving home gathered in the comfort of their beautiful churches. Churches not so different from the one Jesus stood up in. Why do they gather? Often to gain nothing more than knowledge so they can debate and miss the one that can not only quench the thirst causing the debate, but He desires to exchange the drink for a river of life giving answers to flow from them to the world. Are we truly thirsty? Are rivers of LIVING water flowing from our mouths?  How far would we walk? That is what this song is about.