But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." JOHN 4:14
I know you will be busy all week with "what shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed." But life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment, so the soul is more important than all that surrounds it. One of our greatest mistakes is spending our time with the externals of religion while neglecting the internals. Forget about if you are a part of this church or that church, and get concerned about if you are a part of The Church.
This is that water which the Lord gives to believers, which is in them "a well of water springing up into everlasting life." This is the inward work of grace, the life which comes from God.
This spiritual life is a divine gift. "The water that I shall give him." This is not a something which dwells in us naturally. By nature we are enmity against God. We can rake around in the dung hill of this nature all we want and all we will get is more stink. We are dead in sin; we are not in a coma. Dead men do not look for life, for looking for life is an act of life. This life is a gift given by the good pleasure and purpose of God, and a gift is not a debt.
Not only is this a gift, It is a divine gift. "I shall give." He gives us life. We which are dead are made alive. We cannot work it up or in. Life is presented, not as a reward, but as a gift. It comes from Christ, and does not grow out of human nature. My only hope is the mercy of God. No matter how much we do, life will not come to us as a result of it. Saving grace comes as a gift of mercy.
This life which the Lord Jesus Christ gives to us is inside. "This water shall be in Him." This matter of salvation is so valuable, that it encourages people to try to counterfeit it. Where you find this inner life, it promotes outward actions, and we see these actions and think that is life, so we try to imitate them, and are satisfied with the imitation and go no further. If we truly have life, we have no need to pretend we have life.
This water is alive, "A well of water springing up." This is not a stagnant pool, but a spring forcing itself up which none can stop. This is the life that Christ gives. This is the life which God gives. A godliness that comes and goes is not life, but an imitation. If you have this life in you, you have all that Christ can give.
