We live in the Land of Comfort, living better than at least 90% of the world, and yet we want more. Why is that?
It’s sort of like eating those Hint of Lime Tostitos. When I eat the first chip or two, the zesty lime hits my taste buds at full force. My mouth is happy, my brain sensors are delighting in all that fake-lime chemical flavoring. I eat more, and a few more after that, looking for that first zing of deliciousness. This is the law of diminishing taste returns, to be sure—I’m still eating, but the satisfaction is waning, even as I keep eating.
Living for comfort is the same thing. The first take is good, but diminishing returns kicks in and our broken want-o-meters don’t measure that we’ve had our fair share and should be satisfied by now.
Jesus understood our condition, how we are always yearning, craving for more to soothe our broken hearts—whether that be attention or possessions or food or whatever. The solution isn’t to keep feeding the brokenness. We need healing. We need freedom. We need our hearts to settle down and rest.
This is why Jesus came. He said this to a woman He met at a well:
“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” (John 4:13–14, ESV).
Physical water will satisfy the body for a time, but eventually, we will need another drink. Jesus offers a water that satisfies the soul’s thirst, and it is a constant, ever-satisfying well that never runs dry. It is Living Water, Jesus Himself.
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So there is physical water for the body and there is spiritual water for the soul. Both the body and the soul thirst. Both need to be satiated. Our bodies receive it with physical water and food, but what about our souls? What do we give our innermost being? We’ve been giving it comfort in all its forms. But our souls are still craving. Those lime chips don’t ever seem to reach down deep enough . . .
We’re trying to satisfy spiritual needs with physical things. And it doesn’t work like that.
Have you ever tried to satisfy your soul with physical things? Have you ever tried the Living Water of Jesus? Do share.
