“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
What is this “free gift of the water of life”?
We also read in Revelation 21:6, “He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’”
If we have this “water of life,” we will have satisfaction as a thirsty man is satisfied in drinking from the spring of water.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman, who would draw water from the well:
"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).
Water and other physical things will only give us temporary satisfaction. But if we have the “water of life” given by Jesus, we “will never thirst” – we will enjoy complete and eternal satisfaction!
Unfortunately, there are those who reject and will continue to reject this precious gift.
Why?
First, let us identify this “water of life.”
We read in John 7:37-39, “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By THIS HE MEANT THE SPIRIT, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
Jesus Christ was referring to the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God – His Spirit. Nothing in this world could satisfy our heart as the exceeding joy of the Spirit of Christ could give us. And yet, there are those who refuse to come to Him. They do not accept Him to control their lives. They resist the Holy Spirit.
Stephen told the Jews, who would stone him: ”You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51.)
Notice that they resisted the Spirit, because they were “stiff-necked” and “with uncircumcised hearts and ears!” – as spiritually deaf, they did not hear the call: “Come! … take the free gift of the water of life.”
Also, there are those who cannot accept Him, because they do not know Him. Jesus said in John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
Those who reject the Most Precious Gift are in spiritual darkness – spiritually deaf, spiritually ignorant – and with heart of stone. They cannot perceive the Great Worth of the Gift. The “culprit” is not actually the so-called “freedom of choice” of man.
As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "IF YOU KNEW the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10).
But by God’s grace, those whom He had circumcised the hearts, whom He made spiritually alive to hear the Sovereign call and to behold the Glory of Christ, and whom He enabled to come to the Son, they would choose freely to have the Greatest Gift.
They would, then, be feasting on the Word of God (the Bible), for Jesus Christ said: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). And they would never thirst.
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