6th August
Jesus says : He who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6, 35
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes let him take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22, 17
Dieing because of thirst ... near to the source
A newspaper of Cairo states this tragic news in brief: Four pilgrims visited a holy place for Islam near the Red Sea. On the way back their car leaves the road and sinks into the desert sand. The reason cannot be explained. Nobody knew anything and they died because of thirst. A few days later their body was discovered 200 metres beside the nearest water point.
Most of us live in a country where there is no lack of water. We only need to open the tap. However, we think of another thirst, the longing for happiness, purety, truth and real love. Many have this longing in a world which is morally arid and dry. They try to quench it by what the prophet calls "broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2, 13). They are thirsty again. This is what the Lord explains to the Samaritan woman who came to draw water at the well of Sychar (John 4). Yes, physical thirst is a picture of permanent insatisfaction of the human heart. Nothing on earth can still this thirst. Is our soul thirsty? Then let us listen to the urgent invitation of Jesus: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7, 37).
Open your eyes and step forward: the source is here, very near, free of charge and inexhaustible.