I studied French for my first two years of high school. I can still to count up to ten, but that’s about it. However, I clearly remember one lesson when our teacher put in a special effort to give us an appreciation for French culture. She brought a couple of bottles of mineral water to school – with fizz and without - and gave us the opportunity to sample the water the French liked to drink with their meals.
What did we think? Well there was no doubt about it; the French must be crazy. Not only did their water taste awful, but we couldn’t understand why anyone would pay money for a bottle of water.
My how times have changed. Today every corner shop, supermarket, and take away food outlet in Australia sells bottled water. How could we live without it?
Jesus offers us living water. He said, ‘Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (John 4:13-14). Jesus says his water is purer and more satisfying than anything we can imagine. Maybe we should bottle gospel water, put a fancy label on it and sell it off to whoever we can.
Sounds like a good idea, but it’s impossible. Sell the gift of life and it spoils. Jesus offers living water for free; an endless spring always available, without cost. We just need to come to him and ask for his free gift – life without end.