Water of Life

Reflections on Chapter One of Hosanna Wong’s “How (not) to Save the World”

Go. Go. Go. Society pushes into action. Do not remain idle. Do not go slowly. Make the biggest jumps. Make the most out of every opportunity. You can never have enough.

And yet Jesus offers us water that if we drink, we will never thirst again (John 4:14). We always have enough in Him. We are always able to cease striving and know that He is God (Psalms 46:10).

At the heart of the gospel is that the conditions for togetherness with God are satisfied. The sin and shame that stood between us and God have been defeated by Jesus’s death and resurrection. Jesus, our intercessor and friend, offers us eternity with him when we believe in Him and accept Him as our Savior. All our sin and shame is gone, and we receive the Holy Spirit. The water of life. Eternal connection with God.

It is from the Gospel that we must start–where “we are identified with him and fueled by his power” (Hosanna Wong, How (not) to Save the World, p.14). We must begin resting in our identity in Christ, empowered to go forth with our calling to live a life worthy of the Gospel. we don’t need to succeed; instead, we can act out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit.

An every day essential is finding us again living in this truth, embracing the starting point of rest. Today, Lord, provide for us rest in Your Holy Spirit. May we know Your presence and bask in who You are and who we are because of You. You offer us the water of life, and we never have to thirst again. Today our thirst is quenched. We receive, and we praise You. Our hearts are open to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.