Last week, my daughter Brooke turned 30. We went on a daddy/daughter date to see the live performance of Les Miserables at the Hobby Center, Houston, TX.

Now, I Get It 

John 3 & 4 

Jesus used analogies and allegories to teach spiritual truth.  In these two chapters, He presents the concepts of being born again and living water. At this time in His ministry, people tended to take Him literally. This caused them some confusion. Because of the impossibility of the allegory, they questioned him and didn’t understand. To them, what Jesus said was non-sensical from a physical standpoint.   

But here again, they were spiritually dull and didn’t realize Jesus was teaching them in analogies and allegories. Following are the marvelous analogies that Jesus used. To us, they are rich, profound and vivid, but to the hearers, they were nonsensical. 

Born again 

Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus replied, “How can a man be born when he is old?” 

Living water 

Jesus said, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” The Samaritan woman said, “Sir, You having nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?” 

Food (that you don’t eat) 

There also an interaction between Jesus and His disciple. While Jesus was interacting with the Woman, the disciples returned to Him with food and provisions.  The disciples said to Jesus, “Rabbi, eat”.   Jesus replied again with a non-sensical statement by saying, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about… My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”  The disciples were, of course, confused. 

We now have the insight to understand what Jesus was teaching whereas the original listeners just didn’t get it. When one is born, they need food and water to live. When one is born again, they have living water flowing through them and they eat the food of God’s will for their lives.  

To be born again? Impossible! To drink water and never thirst again? Impossible! Food that isn’t eaten? Crazy!  

But, in fact, the spiritual principles that Jesus is teaching are indeed, impossible. Not difficult, but impossible. The kingdom of God is a different place than our physical world. Those who reside only in the physical world just don’t get the Kingdom of God. It is foolishness to them.  

But we, on the other hand, live within a balance between these two worlds. The kingdom of God is among us but we struggle to live consistently within it because we are in the physical world as well. The Spirit and the flesh are at odds with each other. Every day we feel the conflict of the Spirit within us and the visible world we live in.  

Nevertheless, if we drink the Living Water that Jesus offers us, we have a “well of water springing up to eternal life” within us.  It changes us from deep within. We are granted a new understanding; a new mindset; a new vision and hope; that witnesses to us from within; we are His and He has changed us. Be born again and drink fully the Living Water. Whisper to God a prayer of gratitude and praise. He is alive and may He be alive in you. Amen.