Dear Friends
What a difference water makes! Kristine and I were in Wellington (NSW) for 18 months while I did an Intentional Interim at the Baptist Church. The region had already been in a prolonged drought when we arrived, and it continued during our whole time there. Farmers and businesses
were struggling.
When we left just before last Christmas, many paddocks were just dust and the landscape was an ugly brown. With Burrendong Dam at 1.5% capacity and severe water restrictions in place, most people in town had just given up on their lawns and gardens.
A friend sent these photos of the view from where we were staying. The first photo was taken on 17 January and the second on 25 February.
One of the Church leaders emailed this message. “Things certainly have changed with the rain. We have had a bit more out our side of town. I can’t remember it being so green. I had some doubts whether I would see it like this again. But our God is bigger and His storehouses are huge.”
Water is so essential for the health of eco-systems and our environment. But it is also so essential for everyday functioning – cooking, washing up, cleaning the house, cleaning our teeth, showering, washing clothes etc. And of course, we drink it. And we need to drink it regularly and consistently. Dehydration is a serious problem. A person can only survive a few days without drinking water unless fluids are provided in some other way. The amount of water
in a healthy body is over 50% and it is a major component in everything from organs and skin to blood. No wonder drinking water is so important.
One of today’s stories is about God providing water for the Israelites in the desert following their exodus from Egypt. The other is about an encounter Jesus had with a woman at a well. After asking for a drink, Jesus Goes on to converse with her about the “living water” he gives. He says for all who drink it, it “will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life” (John 4:14 GNB).
As important as water is, how much more important is the living water that Jesus gives.
John