I Thirst

I can only imagine the anguish and struggle Jesus faced as he hung on that Roman cross in Golgotha. Spat upon, betrayed and beaten he struggled as each breath grew weaker. At one point he cried out, "I Thirst," an expression of fleshly agony, but it also serves as a metaphor for the longing and desire we have for life's simplest and most essential element - water.

When Jesus sat with the woman at the well (John 4:4-26) we learn a great deal about role and importance of water. A community well was a social center where people would come, gather their essential water for cooking and cleaning, but they would also share their knowledge of community news and world events. As travelers passed through they would communicate the happenings of a world most would never see.

When Jesus sat with the woman at the well he told her about the "living water," and she was eager to know more about the commondity that would forever quench her thirst and provide for her needs. Jesus used water, essential to the body, to the life of individuals and communities as a metaphor for eternal life. While we take water for granted, most of the world understands the precious nature of pure, potable, sanitary water. Consider a few of these facts:

• Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation causes 80% of all disease and kills more people than all forms of violence, including war, combined.
• 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week are to children under the age of 5 and are a direct result of preventable disease.
• Today over 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe, clean drinking water (1 out of 8 people).
• IN Africa, 40 billion hours are spent every year walking for water (most of this work is done by women and children). Even though most of those water sources are not safe for drinking. During their walk they are at greater risk of harrassment, sexual assault, theft and violence.
• The overall economic loss in Africa because of a lack of safe water is $28 billion, about 5% of GNP.

Those are just a few of the troubling statistics concerning the lack of safe water around the globe. Imagine for just a minute the impact that a well planned water ministry can have on the world population.

• Again the well becomes the social center of a community. A place where life giving water can be delivered for both the body and soul.
• The well becomes a place for sanitary and spiritual education. Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within  him" (John 7:38).
• The walk for water is reduced from hours to minutes.
• The availbility of water and the time saved in water delivery allows for agricultural development, irrigation, sanitation and economic growth of the village. (The average daily income where water is NOT present is less than $2.50 per day).
• Children spend more time in school and education and the community advances as the next generation become teachers, hygiene workers and business owners.

"Living Water," our Lord wasn't kidding. Everyday I go and get cold, filtered glass of water from my refridgerator door and never stop to think about the 4 children who die every minute because of a lack of potable water. We can change the world, save the lives of millions, but most importantly we can provide a center in villages around the world where we can tell others about the "living water" that comes only through Christ.