One way we can refresh the heart of Jesus is by watering others. Jesus talked about water more than once. He tells us that when we give a drink to others we have done it unto Him.
“‘Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?” … And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”‘” (Matt. 25:37-40, NKJV).
The Lord expects us to water others. Proverbs 11:25 tells us, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.”
It’s not enough to go through life living for ourselves, selfishly drinking in all we can. We are to be connected, serving others. Anyone can be spiritual in a vacuum. It’s when we have to live in the context of others—in relationships and in community—that the test begins. That’s when we discover if our lives refresh others and therefore refresh Christ.
Take words for example. Do you understand that when you speak to someone, whether in harsh tones or in soothing notes, you are either serving the Master a cool refreshing drink or blowing the dust of carnality into His face?
Maybe the tests of life are really opportunities. Maybe they are moments when the teacher of Galilee says to us, “Will you give Me a drink?” A person may deserve a well-earned lecture but perhaps she needs a drink of refreshing words of courage instead. It’s possible Jesus sent you as an answer to her thirst, “Lord fill me!”
At Cana when Jesus turned the water into wine, He certainly could have created the water to begin with. But the Lord uses us in the miracle and says, “Bring Me the water. Fill these vessels with water and I will turn it into wine.”
Today is no different. Jesus wants to do miracles in the lives of His people. But He chooses to involve us, the ordinary, in the extraordinary. He tells us today to fill the vessels of others with water, to pour words of life like life-sustaining water into the empty clay pots of those around us, and He turns that water into wine. He will turn it into a word that miraculously energizes, transforms and shatters dryness, drenching the soul with divine power.
Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” We are commanded to speak words that benefit, profit, are advantageous and promote well-being to the listener. Even in our communication we have to admit that watering others is not always our goal. Instead we are tempted to blast them with a fire hose and drown them in a whirlpool of our words. Or we withdraw and say little, granting barely an eyedropper full of agua to the thirsty.
Too often our purpose is to extract our own cup of coolness, watering our flesh by venting and purging, wringing out our thoughts on others. We long to benefit ourselves by spewing on another. But where is the water to fill the vessel? Where there is no water there is no wine.
Today Jesus asks you, “Will you bring Me a drink?” Will you refresh Him by watering someone else? Will you?
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