THE CHILDREN'S THIRST

The last of the many pleadings in the Bible is for the thirsty one to come and "take of the water of life freely". A well-known feeling in daily life is thus used by the Spirit of God to show the sense of need felt within our souls and spirits when He is working in us. At the same time He directs us to the source of life in Jesus in glory that will meet our need. In the old creation there are some desert parts of the world where rain falls very, very seldom; there are also in those places seeds and plants which are just waiting for this so as to bring forth their fruits. So in new creation's work there must be many thirsty souls ready for the life-giving heavenly showers.

There is a very touching verse of a familiar hymn for children and it reads as follows: -

'We may not know, we cannot tell

What pains He had to bear,

But we believe it was for us

He hung and suffered there.'

One of the pains that Jesus endured on the cross was thirst; in fact, this was the suffering most marked after the bearing of sins and just before He yielded up His spirit. At that time He drank the vinegar, or sour wine given to Him by the soldiers, fulfilling the scripture "in my thirst they gave me vinegar". The vinegar offered to Him earlier He would not drink because it was mingled with a drug intended to dull the feelings at so cruel a death. The blessed Saviour would not accept such a relief even though well-intentioned. The cup of suffering was full for Him, and the cup of blessing is full for us.

Scripture speaks of the resources of spiritual life by many beautiful figures such as water-brooks, springs, deep waters and rivers. Just as the great river Amazon sends its fresh streams hundreds of miles out into the salt ocean, so the living waters are to be enjoyed in a thirsting world. The prophet Isaiah wrote of drawing water with joy from the wells of salvation - without saying how many there are! No doubt there is one for every need because Jesus died and lives again. Can you sing 'I believe' it was for me He ‘hung and suffered there'?

J.C.Evershed