Bring Your Whole Self
“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.” – John 4:13-14
Dear Friends,
We wrapped our series on the Exodus story on Sunday, but there’s so much more in there than we could possibly cover in six weeks and I wanted to return to one part for a moment.
Exodus 17:1-7 tells the story of a thirsty community, traveling through the desert and begging Moses for water. Moses then cries out to God, and God tells him to strike a rock, from which water eventually flows. There’s a ton going on, but here’s a few highlights.
First, there’s an allusion to Jesus – the Rock, the source of living water. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 10:4) points to this. Jesus himself tells the Samaritan Woman that he’s the source of that living water. Time after time, the Old Testament points to the identity of Jesus and reinforces His centrality.
Second, despite the usual interpretation of the passage… there’s no mention that the Lord was angry with the people for quarreling with Moses or for asking for water. There’s no mention that the Lord was angry. I think this reinforces the fact that God wants us to be honest and bring our whole selves to God. God can take our requests and our needs and our frustrations and our anger even. I think God would prefer us to come honestly, especially over not coming at all.
Third, it’s Moses who seems to be the most put out by the whole ordeal. The people actually come to Moses and Moses complains to God, and Moses likely names the place for their quarreling… and Moses is eventually going to strike another rock, expecting water to come out, despite God’s different instructions. It seems like Moses, as the leader, is struggling even more than the people… but he’s trying to hide it. I think this says as much about the weight of leadership as anything else. It’s really hard, more so when we put ourselves in the place of God, which is not where we belong.
Fourth, God has a process and people that are used to provided for the community. God tells Moses to take some elders with him. God tells Moses to use the staff that had been a marker of God’s presence and power. God tells Moses to strike a rock that was lying around. And from it water will come. Unlike the manna that fell from heaven or the quail that just showed up, there’s a process God uses, and people that are included, and the geography of where they are to meet their needs.
Fifth and finally, the question that ends the story, summarizing it all, “Is the LORD among us or not?” – is the question we all ask! We all want to know, throughout our lives, wherever we are, whether God is with us. And that’s a good question. And it’s the question God longs to answer… but until we’re brave enough to ask it, we’re going to have a hard time recognizing the answer.
Don’t be afraid to ask the hard question. Don’t be afraid to bring your whole self to God and ask if God’s there. It’s a step forward in our growth together!
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus, one hard question at a time,
Pastor Don