John 7:37-39 RIVERS OF LIVING WATER
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
As mere humans, we will always have this particular void or space in our hearts that we long to fill up in almost every waking day of our lifetime. We always “thirst” for something that could be in the forms of emotional, physiological, spiritual, or other forms of need. Some of us may be thirsty for passion or drive to do something at our best. In this case, people (like me) are ecstatic about thriving and going up the ladder in our professional career. Some of us may be thirsty for purpose in life. I know of some people who actually "satisfied" this need by entering parenthood or engaging in missions trips or other social works. Some of us may just long for happiness within ourselves or within the relationships we have we other people. I am not sure if this is a trend but most of my peers are either engaged or married; otherwise, my friends are either in long-term relationships or hopping from one short-term relationship to another. Needless to say, this “thirst” that Jesus was speaking about 2,000 years ago is as real and as evident as it is today. But maybe nowadays, these thirsts are manifested in so many ways and wanted in different intensities.
In whatever shape or form it may be, one thing is for sure about our thirsts - we can come to Jesus Christ for satisfaction and fulfillment. He said Himself that if we believe and truly trust in Him, rivers of living water will flow directly from our hearts. But how does this actually work? How do we know that we have it inside of us?
“Now this He said about the SPIRIT, whom those who believed in Him were to receive,”
THE HOLY SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD
When Jesus said about the "rivers of living water," He was referring to the Holy Spirit. There is nothing better than the Holy Spirit. Even Jesus said that "it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). What is so special about the Holy Spirit? Why is it better than having Jesus, in the physical form, around?
It is only through the Holy Spirit that God's love can be poured into our hearts
(Romans 5:5)
Jesus acknowledged the limitation of His present form, His humanity. As much as He wanted to, He cannot go to all the places simultaneously at once in His human form. Remember that there was no television, radio, or satellite floating around the space at His time. It would be harder for the love of God to reach people from all nations without the Holy Spirit. Most of all, Jesus can never fit physically in our hearts. As absurd as it may sound, this is true. Jesus wants to live so eagerly inside of us that He chose the Holy Spirit to be the vessel of His love into our heart.
“But the FRUIT of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL; against such things there is no law.”
It is only through the Holy Spirit that God's love can be felt as tangibly as possible
(Galatians 5:22-23)
The Holy Spirit is realest, most profound, and most heartfelt way of bringing in Jesus into our heart. He comes in the form of emotions and feelings that mirror the very thirsts that we have inside. He knows that we need love; thus, He comes in the form of love. He knows that we need joy; thus, He comes in the form of joy. And the list go on and on...