The home we raised our family in was a 100+ year old farmhouse located near a creek. I loved to think about the farmer choosing that spot to build his house, up on a rise near free-flowing water that would satisfy household needs. In the late 1800’s, this family probably drew all their water from that creek by way of heavy wooden buckets.
After we’d bought the house, we had a surprise visit from the “little boy” who’d been part of that first family. He was in his 90’s then, bent over with age, but his memories of the house were rich. We walked from room to room, and while standing in the corner where he said his mother had worked at a dry sink, he told of the well his father and brothers had dug. It was an upgrade from the creek, but she had complained it was too far from the house.
He then told of the grand day his father had dug a closer well and linked it to a hand pump on the front stoop. (That explained the 3” round hole in the concrete.) Of course eventually they had running water, and just before we moved in, a fresh well had been dug to a depth of 127’. The water quality wasn’t good, but with a line-up of purifying tanks in the basement, it was acceptable.
After living there 12 years, one day I drew a bath for the girls, and the tub filled with very strange water. It had gritty soil in it and looked much like the creek water flowing outside. Our girls loved their “black bath” and felt like they were playing in the creek.
The next day a well-man gave us the bottom line: “Your well’s going dry, and you’ll need a new one.”
After accepting our fate, Nate told him, “Dig deeper this time. Maybe you’ll find better water.”
A week (and $12,000) later, we had water again, this time from a 165’ depth. There was bad news and good: the water quality wasn’t any better, but the well pipe had hit a deep vein of water, assuring us we wouldn’t run dry again.
I thought of how quickly we were willing to “dig deeper” to get the water we needed, both in the yard and in our pockets. Are we just as willing to diligently dig for God’s truth? How much effort and expense are we willing to put forth?
In the USA we can “taste” spiritual water with virtually no effort or expense. It’s on the car radio, at the corner church, on our TVs, on the internet. The question is, have we cheapened God’s pure provision by wading through its abundance without actually drinking it in?
If that’s true, God’s love will see to it that we inevitably “dry out” to the point of craving his water like someone dying of thirst. And when that happens, no effort or expense will be too great to quench our genuine thirst for him.
“Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
