Living in the Spirit

November 5, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 21:1-6a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

We do not know how important water is in our lives until we have none. In the late 1970s, I moved to Denver, which was the first time I was introduced to the importance of conserving water. In Oklahoma, waitpersons usually brought water to the table for everyone often when they brought the menu. In the Rocky Mountain area, one had to order water. Hearing about the water problems now in the west is heartbreaking. I wonder when the writer of Revelation describes seeing a new heaven and new earth meant to leave out a new sea. The section of Revelation ends with the phrase, To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. All life is a gift from God. Those who recognize that are the ones who will call on God when they thirst for God and God’s righteousness now and in the Kingdom to Come.

Psalm 63:1 describes this relationship well

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

My doctor advised me a few years ago that I was not drinking enough water. Thus, I started a regime of measured drinking amounts of water. In that process, I discovered that I did not like the taste of the water from my tap. So, I started adding a dash of peppermint flavoring and solved my problem. I wonder if our fulfilling our thirst for God requires us to improve our relationship with God so that we desire God as God is not the way we want God to be. God’s spring water does not require the addition of peppermint. If our souls do not like the taste of what we are giving it, we are sipping from the wrong cup.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we chase after things of this world that separate us from you. Draw us back to your spring of living water. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.