A Cup of Cold Water
by Dean Gardner
I’ve always been struck by Jesus’ words that there is a reward even for giving a cup of cold water in His name. As I’ve thought about those words, I’ve realised that a cup of cold water would be of great significance to someone who was dying of thirst. There are many people in the world around us who are dying for lack of the water of life that Jesus offers.
In John chapter 4, we read of how Jesus met just such a person at Jacob’s Well in Samaria, as He sat weary in the heat of the day. The woman He met there that day had probably come alone to fetch water because she was an outcast in her community because of her broken and sinful lifestyle. But Jesus saw the true need and thirst in her life for relationship with God.
...Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life”, (John 4:13-14). And, as Christians, we carry within us a spring of living water through the Holy Spirit. As we live godly loving lives among those who don’t know God, we become the salt and the light Jesus calls us to be. We can be His instruments who cause them to become aware of the thirst within them that only He can satisfy.
I can remember times in my own life when a simple act of kindness or expression of love and acceptance from a Christian was like a cup of cold water to me – a loving smile or someone simply remembering my name caused me to know that I was valued and significant in a world that can make you feel the complete opposite. It’s right that we look for Jesus to do mighty works of power, but perhaps He wants to encourage us to look for those works that no-one else but Him will notice, but which will touch lives desperate for His love.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when You walked on the earth You noticed the outcasts and the rejected. You noticed me as well when my life felt just like that. Please open my eyes to see others as You see them and show me how to reach out in ways that draw them to You. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Dean Gardner worked part time in the Ellel Grange Ministry Office for four and a half years until October 2018 and is now part of the Associate teaching and ministry team. He now lives in Norfolk with his wife Gemma. In 1988 he experienced God`s amazing grace at a carol service and began a journey of restoration and healing with Jesus. He longs to continue that journey allowing God`s truth to change his own life but also to share that truth with others that they too might know Jesus for themselves.
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