Piece from a broken, Roman cistern.
“A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Wikipedia.
At one time, God said, “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” Jeremiah 2:13
We cannot live long without water. We can live longer, but not forever, without food. God uses many symbols throughout the Bible to give us a mental picture of life with or without him. Eating and drinking seems to be the most common symbol.
The verse above came to me when I was reading about Jesus speaking to the people he had fed with the bread and fish. Excited about getting free food, the people had at first tried to force Jesus to be King of Israel, but he stopped them and sent them home. The next day the people searched for Jesus and found him. They wanted him to be their ruler and make sure they had miraculous food all the time.
Some of them said, “Sir, give us this bread every day.”
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Everyone who comes to me will never hunger and everyone who believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:35,35
When the people heard this, most of them turned away from Jesus and didn’t follow him any longer. They realized he would not be the kind of king they desired.
I’ve read about this many times, but sometimes when I am reading the Bible, the words seem to jump out at me and shine brightly. As I thought about what Jesus had said about drinking from him, I remembered what he said to the woman at the well.
He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It will become a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14
Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to be a good person (or, for righteousness), for they will be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6
So, I asked myself, “What have I hungered and thirsted for in this life?”
In my teens, a boyfriend to love me and babies to hold. In my twenties, a happy marriage and more money. Well, I did get the babies! And that was a fantastic gift from God. I also got a divorce and a second marriage.
I did want to be a good person too. I wanted to be like God. But in my twenties and thirties, I would say the love of a man was what I most hungered and thirsted for. And when that love, or lack of love, was in bad shape, I was in bad shape too.
I think in my forties and fifties, it was the love of my children and grandchildren I thirsted for the most. They became my idols. I was with God, yes. He lived in me, helped me and kept me going. But deep down I didn’t really believe he loved me, which kept me at arms length, I think. I liked having God in my life, but loving him was difficult.
In my sixties, I have finally fallen in love with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are my everything, and give me so much joy. I do believe they love me.
I have found the love I hungered for in this world was not good enough when I got it. It never measured up to my expectations; it never filled me up; it never satisfied me. People can never do that for us; they are only human. They cannot be everything we need, but God can be and will be if we eat and drink from him through pouring out our hearts to him in prayer and studying his words in the Bible.
