John 18:28b "I Thirst"
As our precious Savior hung on that rugged cross, moments before death would claim Him, He said "I thirst". One of those responsible for putting Jesus on this very cross dipped hyssop into sour wine and lifted it up to Him, after which He said "It is finished!" and gave up His spirit.
This morning as these words filled my mind, I saw that our Lord was not thirsty for water but in fact was thirsty for the Presence, the Presence of His Father that had left Him when He took on the sins of the world. That immense emptiness His spirit felt when His Father, His God, who could not look at sin, turned His back. Can you just imagine how God felt? Loving His Son so deeply, His Son who knew no sin.....His Son, perfect and unsoiled......Heaven's own joy....and having to turn away.....because He took on the sins of the world......all sin...past, present, future sin....my sin.....your sin. I believe the earthquake that preceded was the very breaking of God's heart as the reason He sent Jesus to earth.....knowing death was the result.....was finished.
I have known parents who, for reasons they knew was the right thing to do, have turned their child, their grown child, out and refused their cries for help, turning from them with their own hearts breaking.....and they were not taking on the sins of all the world. You may know how this feels also, my friends, as a time when you have had to refuse your child something even though it broke your heart to do so. Your tears shed.....I believe my Father in Heaven shed tears, heartbreaking tears.
"I thirst". Serious spiritual thirst when a separation came between the Son and the Father. This is the deep thirst so many feel because of a lack of relationship with the Lord. As these words came to me this morning, I could see....I could feel the estranged cry of Jesus as the relationship was severed.....even though it would be for a short period of time....a minute would be too long to be separated from the Father. People search for lifetimes trying to satisfy that emptiness, that thirst they seek and so many never find it as they are unwilling to let themselves go.....just give up the control they have worked so hard to maintain.....just let themselves call on the Lord and surrender their all to Him. One call and their thirst would be satisfied for eternity with "Living Water" that would cease their thirst forever.
The dictionary says thirst is a dry, painful feeling caused by having nothing to drink......a dry, painful feeling. Have you ever come in, so thirsty, and drank a bottle of water to find that you were still thirsty? So you drank more to find that it did not seem to quench that thirst? Only One can truly satisfy the thirst of a child of God. Only One can truly fill the vessel to the top calming the need for anymore. Only One can calm that dry, painful feeling, replacing it with a joy unknown before. Only One can give everlasting, never-ending "Living Water" so that you thirst no more.
