“Hey there! All who are thirsty,
come to the water!”
(Isaiah 55:1a, The Message)
The Minimum amount of water needed to survive in the 24 hour period is 4 litres. Imagine those in refugee camps, in drought situations for whom 4 litres is all they are allocated.
And now have a look around your home. You probably have several taps in your house, cold water in the fridge and at work. At the slightest twinge of thirst you can satisfy the craving.
When was the last time you were really thirsty? It was probably during some kind of recreation – a jog or hiking, or because you ate too many salty chips.
We do not know what it means to thirst – really thirst for life giving water.
The World Health Organisation indicates that water poverty is defined as having less than 20 liters per day for all your needs – washing clothes, using the toilet, cooking, drinking etc.
I want to set you a challenge today. Try to survive on 20 liters of water. Measure them out into a couple of buckets and use them for all of your needs. Give thanks that you can just get them out of a tap and imagine the many millions of people who walk long distances to fetch water.
Grey water is important, not just when there is a water crisis. It makes no sense economically or environmentally to pour drinking quality water down the toilet. This water has been treated at great cost. We can all make small changes, by re-using water from our showers or baths in the toilet. Or we can consider putting in a rain tank or grey water system to make larges life style changes.
This understanding of physical thirst also helps us to understand the living water that God offers us.. If you are thirsty for God, even the least bit, God invites you, welcomes you, yearns for you to come to the waters, to the flowing, bubbling, effervescent fountain of eternal life.
Stop for a moment, in the midst of your busy day, and consciously drink in God’s presence.
Renewal flows continually from God. “Come,” God invites us. “Come thirsty and drink deeply.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-peter-m-wallace/thirsty-for-god-a-meditat_b_819784.html
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Mark Hertsgaard, author of the book Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth,