John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believes on me, as the scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Have you thirsted and drunk of the living waters that bring eternal life and cleansing to the soul? Is the joy of your salvation so great that out of your belly a river of living water is flowing?
In the older Bible translation, the word belly means the innermost part of man,
your soul,
your heart,
your thoughts,
your feelings
and your choices.
In the newer translation, they use the word heart. I like belly. It just grabbed my attention.
Great adventurers in the past have marveled at discovering sparkling, glorious rivers and traveled through great natural adversities in a quest to find the source. Is your belly river flowing so freely that everyone knows that you are a source of living water?
Illustrious marketers and advertisers offer natural waters for refreshment and for health. Cool waters are drunk and the body nourished. Warm waters, like natural hot springs, are for relaxation and healing. Tepid, or lukewarm water, isn’t useful. A bottle of Dasani that has been left in the car on a 90 degree day isn’t going to be as refreshing as the one that has been refrigerated and has luscious drops of cold condensation traipsing down the familiar blue label.
A hot-tub that has the heater shut off and the chemicals not added is no longer a hot-tub, it would be a big fiberglass container filled with rank, cold water, absolutely useless. Are you keeping your living waters useful and available to refresh and bring health to those around?
Cascading waterfalls are a sight too glorious to put into words and can hardly be captured in still photography in such a way to really commemorate the experience. Is your belly river so awe-inspiring that people marvel at the glorious works of the Lord in your life? Do they stand, with jaw-dropping marvel, as what He has created in you?
May people be able to say about all of us, “out of her belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Not for our benefit, our glory, but that we might be a healing source of the living water to all around.
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