Friday, September 5, 2014

The Well of Jesus Christ

               In this day and age, many people are longing for something to fill the void in their hearts. They search far and wide--they search for love, they search for peace; alas, they do not find what they are searching for only because they search for it in every place they cannot find it. Peace, love, joy, salvation, and all they long for can only be found in the well of Jesus Christ. They do not know that in this well is the water of salvation. . . real love. . . everlasting life. They perceive this well as old, dirty, boring, and bitter. But perhaps they see it this way because many people who claim to drink from the well act as hypocrites. However, those who are searching have yet to meet we who do drink from the well. 

              The well holds all of the answers to all the questions life has. It holds the fufillments of the expectations of life. We, those who drink from the well, must draw these people who are searching--groping about in the darkness--to the light, and to the well. We must grab them by the hand and rescue them from the vicious dragon. The dragon lives and thrives in the darkness. He preys on those who are searching, his sole desire to take away every chance of them being drawn to the well. The dragon knows he has been defeated; he is only trying to take as many as he can with him.

              After one drinks from the well that gives everlasting life, it is easy to get on the path trailing out of it, but it is easy to stray off the path as well. It is difficult to stay on the path, and reach the top of the mountain. It is a feat that cannot be accomplished by human strength or ambition, but by the strength of the shepherd. Few make it there, where all are meant to be. The beautiful deception of nature on the left and right seduce many away from the path. What they miss is the most pleasureable, breathtaking views are at the top of the mountian. They hear the words of Christ when He says discipleship comes at a great cost, but they do not heed. They expect the journey to the top to be easy when it is in fact the opposite. The journey starts at the well, but the well is only the beginning. It is a trek--a hard one, but quite worth it. 

              Those who choose to follow this road are hunted; they are persecuted and often times killed. They are called radical, fundamentalist, freaks. These disciples, like their Savior first, are despised and rejected by men. Their lives are not easy. Yet through their many trials, the followers of the Way rejoice! They are glad, happy, completely filled with the joy of their salvation. They praise and worship the one true God! With smiles, they help and minister to all they come in contact with. They share the Good News, the life of the well, with everyone! They bless their persecutors--they love them! They tell even these who hate them about Jesus Christ, the well, who sacrificed for them. They share that out of Jesus flows the water of everlasting life, to whom all that drink will never become thirsty again! Some listen, but those who don't are consumed by the deception of the dragon. Those who choose to follow the path of the well have chosen correctly, but they have chosen a life that comes at a great cost. They have chosen to die to themselves, to give up everything for the sake of the gospel. They don't live anymore, and it is for the better of themselves. Christ now lives in and through them--they do His work! And He is with them, promising to never leave. He shows them they way. . . He IS the way! He leads them on the path. He grabs them when they begin to stray, and they, like sheep, know His voice. He, and not them, HE receives all the glory for it is He who deserves it! 

I CHOSE THE WELL. 



                                                WILL YOU? 


"Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" -Jesus, John 4:13-14 ESV

"'Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.'" -Jesus, Matthew 7:13-14 ESV

"'When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.'" -Jesus, John 10:4-5 ESV