Water! My urologist is telling me to drink water instead of soda and tea. Basically, he tells me I shouldn’t drink caffeine, carbonation, or sugar. So, what I’m left with is… water!
Water is, for a chemist, H2O. Each molecule of water has one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. To be more specific, water is the liquid state of H2O; ice is the solid and steam is the gaseous state. It covers 71 percent of the earth’s surface and cycles through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff until 95.5% of it ends up in oceans and seas.
I’ve always been fascinated by water; it’s essential to life, yet contains absolutely no calories or nutrients. And I’m saddened to know that a billion people don’t have access to safe water and by 2025 half the world’s population will face some degree of water shortages.
In places with plenty of water, 70 percent is used in agriculture, but lots of people think the best use for water is fishing! It’s also used for transportation, heating and cooling, cooking, drinking, washing, and as a solvent. Jesus used water as an illustration of his message to the woman in Samaria… and to us.
“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.” (John 4:28-30, 39-42)
I remember someone saying, years ago, “The Christian message is so deep, we’ll never fully comprehend it; and so simple, even a child can understand it.” This story begins with a woman drawing water from a well while Jesus watches. She finally noticed him and offered him water for his body. He offered her living water for her spirit. If he drinks her water, he’ll be thirsty again tomorrow; if she drinks his living water, she’ll never again be thirsty. And I wonder, are you thirsty… for life?

Pastor’s viewpoint is written by Charles ‘Buddy’ Whatley, a retired United Methodist pastor serving Woodland-Bold Springs UMC and, with Mary Ella, a missionary to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.