A recently poured cup of hydrogen peroxide sat unassumingly in the doorway. Meredith had poured a cup for me to use for first aid as we were to split up and work at two different care points that day. Our family sat around talking and preparing over breakfast for the day ahead of us. A few of the neighborhood kids began to show up and we started to scoop them up and love on them as was a fixture in our morning activity. As if in slow motion, I watched as Wandile walked over to the doorway and reached for the styrofoam cup as he cried out "Emantee." Before any of us could stop him, he proceeded to gulp down a little of the strange substance. Immediately we all cried out "Mani" and took the cup away from him. Scared and confused, Wandile stood in the midst of us as he began to foam at the mouth. He was soon given water, "emantee", and no permanent damage was done.

     This story from my Real Life trip to Swaziland in the summer of 2005, came to mind the other day when I was learning about the story of the woman at the well. The woman, like Wandile, was seeking water- a substance necessary for life, a substance that also has a quality gradient. Wandile was excited to find our water (from the tap at the Bible College), not to find the usual water from the pond, which he had at his house. He was looking for the good stuff, however, just like the woman at the well, he found the wrong stuff- the thing that cannot satisfy, or indeed can even cause harm. In my mind, the hydrogen peroxide can be compared to the well water and the real water to living water.

     Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is only one atom of oxygen more than water. This one atom however has the ability to completely alter the molecule's purpose. Now, instead of being life sustaining, it becomes capable of killing (antimicrobial). It's amazing how two compounds that appear to be so similar, can actually have very little in common.

     So what is this "living water"? In John 4, Jesus says," 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." In my Bible's notes, it says, "In saying he would bring living water that could quench a person's thirst for God, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. Only the Messiah could give this gift that satisfies the soul's desire." The living water satisfies- it is our soul's true need.

     How often do we cry out "Emantee" and inaccurately label things as godly or satifying or of the Lord, only to one day realize it was this that prevented true intimacy? Do we cover our sins with these things or become a worshiper of the "water" instead of a lover of the king?

     Hydrogen peroxide isn't bad when it is used appropriately (to clean wounds, etc.) It becomes bad when it stands in for something that it's not. When it plays water, it can make us sick. Likewise, the water in the well was important, but we must understand and grasp that the only true living water is in Jesus Christ, and it is the only one that satisfies.

What have I sought out as living water only to discover that it was hydrogen peroxide or something even worse?

Have I allowed the living water to fill my inmost places and satisfy me completely?

     May we all understand the power of the living water, and when we see it, cry out in excitement as Wandile did that day in Swaziland, "Emantee!"