Morning Devotional
April 12, 2005
"The Woman at the Well" (Part 6) 
    by Don Emmitte

Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?" Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life." "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water." (John 4:10-15 NLT).

 

I like the Gatorade commercials. They emphasize the need to replenish fluids and minerals in our body when we are thirsty. Physiologically they are correct. However, there is another kind of thirst that must be quenched in our lives. It is a spiritual one. In order to quench this thirst you need an eternal thirst quencher. You may only find it in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

Eternal life is a concept that is difficult for some people to understand. I have often asked people, “What does it mean to someone that they have received eternal life?” The answer is usually something such as, “It means I will never die.” I’ll then ask them, “What does it mean when we say that God is eternal?” To this, the standard reply is something to the effect of “It means He never had a beginning and He never has an ending.”

 

Well, if that’s what eternal means, and we receive eternal life at salvation, then doesn’t that mean that we never had a beginning and that we will never end? It really does mean that. When a person receives Jesus Christ, he or she enters into eternal life in Jesus Christ. That person becomes a new creation, one that has is united with God eternally, into the little understood realm outside of time. Ephesians says that we are “seated with Christ in the heavenly realms”.

 

I know this is a strange concept for us, but it really is important, because eternal life means more than just a ticket to Heaven. Eternal life is Jesus’ life. Eternal life doesn’t begin when we die and go to be with Jesus; the moment we received Christ as our Savior we entered into eternal life. We can live victoriously in Christ, because we are a part of His eternal life.

 

This may be confusing to us, but the truth in this principle is essential! This is the source of our hope. As we face the many trying realities of our lives, to know that they are merely passing moments, brings great encouragement. Rest in your eternal life! That is the Good News of Jesus Christ!