The Fifth Word

“I thirst.”

John 19:28

This week our reflection on the Fifth Word is written by Andrew Kosch (with love from Thailand).

Imagine a hot sunny day with temperatures in the 100’s. Imagine spending the day in the sun without any water or refreshments. Imagine your body becoming physically dehydrated as your skin becomes dry and leather-like. Your brains stops functioning properly, your head aches, and you become disoriented. You know you thirst for water. And when you finally get that glass of water, you are delighted with how satisfying and glorious it is. You vow to yourself to never go that long without water again.

Now imagine a busy day packed with responsibility and obligations. Imagine working through your seemingly never-ending to-do list. Imagine some degree of fear or anxiety or worry or stress setting in as you begin to lose control of your mental, emotional and spiritual situation. You are stressed. You seem to be losing track of God’s presence in the stream of busyness. Your mind may not realize it, but your soul knows what you thirst for is God. And when you finally run to God and receive rest, or comfort, or peace, or understanding, etc., you are delighted with how satisfying and glorious it is. You vow to yourself to never go that long without God’s nourishment again.

But oftentimes, and sometimes without even realizing it, we find ourselves spiritually dehydrated despite our best intentions. And I think that is because we lose track of God’s presence in our lives. This need not be the case though. See, on the cross Jesus drank the cup of wrath and suffering for us so we could choose to drink the living water of God that brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control into our lives. We drink this living water by believing in Christ and obediently submitting to His will in the moment. We can only receive this water of life by the gifts of grace and mercy from God, which we then access by engaging in spiritual disciplines like praying and fasting and meditating and serving and worshipping God.

So, in the same way we drink water to maintain a physical hydration, we should take action daily to maintain the spiritual hydration of our souls. The cup of destruction that Jesus received after declaring “I am thirsty” was intended for us. So in a way, Jesus’s sacrificial death purified the “water” we need for the proper functioning of our souls. So thank God and drink deeply.

(*The analogy may not be perfect, which is okay, because God is – so do not take my word for it, just talk to Him.)