From what well are you drinking?

I visited an art exhibit in Millennium Park with some friends featuring special sculptures made out of Red Bull cans. It was pretty cool to see some of the things people had done — a dress, a set of wings, a fish, portraits — using just the metal from energy drink cans. The stories behind some of the pieces included information about the artists. All I could think about was the number of drinks they must have consumed in order to produce so much art on a grand scale.

Everyone runs on something. You drink water, or pop, or coffee. We all refresh ourselves somewhere.

I’ve been thinking about the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus reveals the nature of the Living Water in this portion of Scripture and how it refreshes forever. Our souls can be at peace and we can be revitalized, never to thirst again for something that doesn’t last. The eternal life that comes from God, the Living Water, refreshes us forever.

Are you drinking from that well, or are you just drinking someone else’s Kool-Aid? When we don’t drink water, we dehydrate ourselves even more. Sure, we may feel good for a moment, but it doesn’t last.

The influence of others can be strong. We can find ourselves chugging someone else’s ideology, opinions, worldview, or standards without even realizing it. The Kool-Aid can affect us so much that we even start to change ourselves into someone else.

The woman at the well was thirsty, as all of us are. However, like many of us, she didn’t know it. She couldn’t understand Jesus when he started talking about the Living Water until he revealed the truth to her. Sometimes, we don’t even know that we’re not drinking the right thing until the Spirit reveals the truth through the Word, in prayer, or by the wisdom of other Christians.

As believers, we are secure in Christ; yet, I find myself often looking for meaning, life, rest, and refreshment from others’ pitchers instead of the eternal Living Water himself. I need to be refreshed by the Living Water instead of searching for satisfaction in other unhealthy places.

May we pray to see the true colors of the fountains from which we’re drinking, and may God lead us like sheep back to the Living Water for our hydration and life.