agua de vida
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14
As Shorty shares these words and others from John 4 I look around the room at those listening. Our grupo de vida this week is in an outdoor setting overlooking the river where all the waste is thrown. The majority of us are sitting outside but there are also people sitting inside looking in. In the doorway sit two young men in their twenty’s who are often seen hanging out in the streets. They have regularly been invited to come and finally decided to check it out tonight. I also see an elderly lady, a lot of mothers with young children, teenagers, kids, two guys from Shorty’s rehab, some teachers and workers from the school, as well as a few “gringos.” The one group of people I notice consistently lacking in our group are the fathers, or older men in general.
Despite the variety of the people in the room I know that everyone can relate in one way or another to the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. We have all felt an emptiness in our souls. We have all tried to fill that emptiness with things other than Christ. We all struggle with addictions of various sorts. We are all in desperate need of God’s grace and forgiveness. The difference lies in the fact that some have already experienced God’s grace and some are still searching. Some are living in the freedom and new life found in Christ while others are still living as a slave to sin. But for all it is a message of hope and good news. No matter our past, God offers us an unending supply of living water to cleanse us of our sins and give us life eternal.
These gospel truths are taking root in the lives of the people here in La Limonada. People are listening and taking notice. It is a gospel not only preached, but also lived out. Changed lives changing lives by the power of God’s grace. To Him be all the glory.
