Dear brothers and sisters,
How did your week go? By God’s grace we were able to fly to Bicol on Friday to visit our brethren, meet with leaders, and have the privilege to witness some baptisms here this weekend. We thank God for the sunny weather here in Bicol, in contrast to the dark clouds, strong winds and rains that we left behind in Metro Manila.
I do not know about you, but I like rain—water that is distilled in the sky and falls to the ground to be a blessing to us. These past few days, we may have received more rain than most people wanted. Rain which led to more traffic jams, more people stranded on their way to work or coming back home, or making us more prone to catching a cold. But the one thing that keeps me in a thankful and rejoicing attitude is that this is the same water that sweeps our streets clean of dust, and fills our dams that supply us daily with water for drinking and cleaning. This rain gives our farmers a precious ingredient for growing their crops. Water indeed is a symbol of life.
It’s a good thing to remember this as we just celebrated the day of Pentecost. Water is one of the pictures that represent the Spirit of God. In John 7:37-39, the Lord Jesus says: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.”
This did not mean that the Holy Spirit was not involved before that was obvious in the Old Testament Scriptures. What Jesus refers to here is that special baptizing, regenerating and indwelling work of the Spirit, which started on the day of Pentecost. While Jesus used living water in John 4:10 to refer to eternal life, He used it here in John 7 to refer to the Holy Spirit. These two go together.
Just as physical water satisfies our physical thirst, the Holy Spirit also satisfies the inner person with abundant life, continually. The Spirit within a believer satisfies his need of God, and provides him with regeneration and enablement that can only come from the eternal Source of living water.
Water also cleanses us. In the same way, the Spirit works in our lives to lead us to the truth, strengthens us to be able to do God’s will, sanctifies us to fight our temptations and leads us to understanding the Word of God. It’s no wonder He is also called our Comforter and Helper.
Water also leads to productivity in our farms. In much the same way, the Spirit leads us to fruitfulness in terms of producing the character of Christ, giving us the grace to work together, and the power to serve with the gifts that He gives us. In Luke 24:49, the Holy Spirit was the power that the disciples needed to testify about Jesus boldly. The Spirit would help them to serve the Lord and accomplish His will. Even ordinary people were able to do extraordinary things because of the Spirit of God at work in their lives. The same power of the Spirit at work with them then, is also the same power that can help us to live meaningful and fruitful lives now.
Is anyone thirsty? Is there anyone who feels that life is dry and barren? There is good news. Rivers of living water can flow in us and through us. We can experience Jesus’ power and grace, through the Holy Spirit. Let’s heed the Lord’s invitation to come to Him and believe.
God bless you all, Ka Eugene
