It occurred to me this week that passion can come and go. All hopes cling to the outcome of an event – that may or may not end in with favor. Face paint, rally caps and fog horns all symbolize the devotion to a beloved team. You guessed it. I am talking about the World Series and Cardinal fans!
I live in Cardinal nation. Surrounded by men, women and children who are head over heels in LOVE with the Cardinals. And yes, I get it, I too love baseball, and I love being on the side of the winning! With the recent losses behind us, it is evident the passion in the city has waned. We have hung up our hats and jerseys and clicked the station over to hockey or football. In a matter of minutes, we moved on to the next chance to cheer for a winning team.
Passion tends to grow and thrive when our expectations are met. Passion seems to be driven by circumstances. Passion builds camaraderie. But when the expectations are crushed, and as time passes, the passion dwindles and we settles into the status quo. Click. Click. Click. We move on to the next channel in search of the next thrill.
I encountered a passionate story this week from the woman at the well. The Samaritan woman, who retrieved her water in the hottest part of the day, so she could avoid encountering anyone who may “know” her secret life – having multiple lovers. That day, she met Jesus, who knew her deeper secret -her thirst to be loved deeply, truly and completely, despite her mistakes. Jesus told her, in this brief encounter, that she could have living water.
In her quest to understand what living water was, she asked him where he would get this water, and if he was a greater man than their forefather Jacob, whom built the well that provided water for generations of people.
Jesus told her the water he could provide her, the living water, was a water that would allow her to never thirst again. He even says that, “the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.” (John 4:14b). When he spoke to her thirst, he spoke to her deepest need, to be loved fully and unconditionally.
As Jesus described the living water he offered her, and offered to anyone who would listen and believe, living water that would quench the thirst of their souls that longs for eternal life and relationship with God.
The Samaritan woman sitting at the well, in board daylight, the hottest part of the day, getting a drink to quench her physical thirst, encountered her loving savior, who offered her the need above every other need she had. This offer of living water was too good to pass up. She responded to Christ with a passionate fervor saying, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.” (John 4:15)
Her passion and the longing of her heart to be quenched rang out, “give me this water…”
The cry of my heart today is this, “give us this water Jesus!” Those who do not know you Lord, let them encounter you and the living water that brings ever lasting life. Quenches the thirsting of souls in my community today.
My prayers for you, Christ follower, it this: Give us, Lord, a holy passion for more of you Jesus that your living water pours out of us like a well, springing up. Give us a holy passion to share your living water with others. Allow us to be the conduit of opportunity for the men and women around us to come to know you. Father help us to find our passion again in you, the one and only person who will truly satisfy our every longing.
My challenge for you Hope Seeker, is for you to search your heart and ask yourself about your passions. Where do your passions lie? Search your heart and ask, what am I thirsting for? Whatever the passion and whatever the thirst are they elevated above Christ? If they are elevated, why? What expectations are you putting on this person, thing, idea, belief that will end up disappointing you in the end? How can you begin to shift your passion and thirst toward Christ, the only one who can turn your thirst to satisfaction?
I pray, as you think this over that you, Hope Seeker, embrace what God reveals to you. Embrace the changes and the tweaks he is calling you to make. As you implement the changes, He is calling you to, take note of how your thirst and passions change.
If you were blessed by this message, be sure to share it with your friends and family. Leave comments or questions or prayer requests. I respond to them all personally. Blessings to you!
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