In John’s Gospel we read, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-3837In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37‑38)). The feast referred to in this lovely scripture was “the feast of tabernacles,” called at the opening of the chapter “the Jews’ feast.” It could no longer be called a feast of Jehovah, for it had become an empty formality—something in which man could boast, while God was entirely shut out. Thus it was with Israel of old, and thus it is with the professing church now. We all have to watch against this snare of the devil. He will use a positive ordinance of God as a means of deceiving the soul and shutting out God altogether. But where faith is in lively exercise, the soul has to do with God in the ordinance, and thus the power and freshness are maintained.
The Feasts of the Jews
In John’s Gospel the feasts are designated as feasts of the Jews, and we find the Lord Jesus displacing one after another of these feasts and offering Himself as an object for the heart. Thus at the opening of chapter 7 we find the Lord Jesus refusing to show Himself openly to the world; He refused to exhibit Himself at the feast of tabernacles. Eventually He did go up to the feast, but for what purpose? He went up to serve. He went up to glorify His Father and to be the willing servant of man’s necessity.
“About the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me” (John 7:14-1614Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 15And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? 16Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. (John 7:14‑16)). Here His moral glory as the self-hiding servant shines out. Such was His answer to those who wondered where He received His learning. His motives and His objects lay far beyond the reach of carnal and worldly-minded men. They measured Him by their own standard, and hence, all their conclusions were utterly false. “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” (John 7:17-1817If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. (John 7:17‑18)).
The Person of Christ
But we must turn for a moment to the words which form the special subject of this paper. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:3737In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37)). Here we have set before us a truth of infinite preciousness and immense practical power. The Person of Christ is the divine spring of all freshness and spiritual energy. It is in Him alone the soul can find all it really needs. It is to Him we ourselves must come for all our personal refreshment and blessing. If at any time we find ourselves dull, heavy and barren, what are we to do? Make efforts to raise the tone? No, this will never do. What then? Our Lord says, “Let him come unto Me, and drink.”
Notice the words. It is not, “Come unto Me, and draw.” We may draw for others and be dry ourselves, but if we drink, our own souls are refreshed, and then there will be “rivers of living water.” Nothing is more miserable than the restless efforts of a soul out of communion with the Lord. We may be very busy, our hands may be full of work, our feet may run hither and thither, the head may be full of knowledge, but if the heart is not livingly occupied with the Person of Christ, it will all be barrenness and desolation so far as we are personally concerned. There will be no “rivers of living water” flowing out for others. If we are to be made a blessing to others, we must feed upon Christ for ourselves. We do not “drink” for other people; we drink to satisfy our thirst, and as we drink, the rivers flow. When a heart is filled with Christ, the hands are ready for work, and the feet ready to run, but unless we begin with heart communion, our running and our doing will be a miserable failure. There will be no glory to God, no rivers of living water.
Drink at the Fountainhead
Yes, we must begin in the very innermost circle of our own moral being, and there be occupied, by faith, with a living Christ, or else all our service will prove utterly worthless. If we want to act on others, if we would be made a blessing in our day and generation, if we desire to bring forth any fruit for God, if we would shine as lights amid the moral gloom around, if we would be a channel of blessing in the midst of a sterile desert, then we must listen to our Lord’s words in John 7:3737In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37); we must drink at the fountainhead. If I say, I must try and be a channel of blessing to others, I shall only prove my own folly and weakness. But if I bring my empty vessel to the Fountainhead and get it filled, then, without the smallest effort, the rivers will flow.
Christian Truth (adapted)