The Rain

John 4:13-15 "Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” NIV

We had rain today.  That may seem like such a small thing where you live.  Here in Texas we have gone days, weeks, and months without rain.  The grass died long ago, brown and dusty even after daily soakings with precious water. Trees are dying by the hundreds, emptying the landscape of beauty, leaving birds homeless, animals without shade.  Farmers are having to sell off valuable livestock as there just is no life giving water for them. A fine sheen of dirt covers almost everything, stirred up by the wind that swirls, promising rain yet blowing past without sending a drop.

As I looked out the door at the rain that poured down from the heavens, it was as if God had finally smiled upon us.  You could almost hear the sigh of relief from the earth.  Washed clean from weeks of a dusty covering, the rocks shone like gemstones.  The crashing thunder together with the blowing wind provided a backdrop to the symphony of sound as water flowed across every surface.

In the scriptures, Christ often talks about His words being the very water we need to bring us life.  I have often thought about how it only takes just a few words of scripture, a drop here, a drop there, to bring us back to a joyful place.  The cleansing of our souls, washed clean by His Blood, is like a rainstorm every day, available to us no matter the day, the time, the hour.  Even after we have come to the waters of baptism, we should revisit the river of His life giving water each and every day.

Dearest Father, our beloved Adonai, cover our sins with the precious life giving water You have offered us through Your Son, Jesus.  Let us come before You each day, drinking deep from the well of Your Word.  Let us be start each day with a long, deep, refreshing drink of that very gift Your precious Son gave His life to procure. Sweet forgiveness.  Even when the world around us seems dusty, dirty and covered in ugliness, let our lives be cleansed from the stains we bring before You.  Let us raise our hands to the sky, feeling the rain on our face, drenching our very souls with Your Love.  In the name of Your Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Amen