An Unquenchable Thirst

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. - John 7:37

Have you ever felt that? That unquenchable thirst? You can probably recall a time of hard physical exertion, when the dryness of your mouth, and the longing of your body as it yearned for water, meant that the first cool cup didn’t even touch the sides. You fill again, you drink deeply. Again and again.

But maybe you recall a different thirst. A deeper thirst. Some deep longing of the spirit, or the emotions, or the insecurities of the heart; some thirst that aches deep within that you keep pouring into, but is never satisfied. An unquenchable thirst.

For eight days the people gathered in the temple courts. For eight days they made offerings of the choicest foods, and pitcher after pitcher of purest water poured out. Eight days the water flowed. Year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation, but sin has a thirst that isn’t easily quenched.

Eight days, and then something happened that had never happened before. Actually, someone, happened. ”If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

There is an unquenchable thirst that can only be satisfied in Jesus, and he stands before you today with the same offer he made 2000 years ago, ”Come, drink, be satisfied.”