August 9th, 2022

Does Water Have Taste?

Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

      "Does water have a taste?" This is a debate I've heard many times. While I'm sure quite a few would say no, I'll be a part of the party that says yes. I grew up drinking spring water, and I'm sure anyone who was also raised on spring water could attest that it does taste much different than any other water source. Not only that but spring water is known to be the purest, most natural form of drinking water. When my husband and I built our house, we chose spring water as our water source because our neighbors (his parents) have a spring that produces enough water for not only them but us. However, while spring water may be free-flowing, if we are faced with a dry period, we have to go to town and haul city water to compensate for the lack of water in our spring. I dread this because, in my opinion, the city water is subpar in comparison to our spring water. It tastes like chlorine and when I wash my hair with it, it makes my hair hard to comb through. Not to mention, if hauled in a dirty water tank, we could be exposed to countless forms of bacteria that could make us sick.

      Here's where I'm going with this: When looking for the good things in life, are we turning to the spring of living water? Or are we settling for subpar, mediocre water that could potentially make us sick? God makes this known to His people through the prophet Jeremiah, who like us, was turning to other places for their source of goodness. You see, when we turn to other places for the good things we need in life, the vital things like water, it's like turning to dirty, old, broken cisterns for a swig. And when we get a swig from that broken, old cistern (which I'm picturing is full of rust and filth), it does not satisfy the way a gulp of ice cold, fresh, clean water flowing freely from the spring of life would. And in drinking from this rugged cistern, we will not only find ourselves having to keep coming back because our thirst seems to be unquenchable, but we are also exposing ourselves to bacteria that could not only be harmful, but toxic. 

I want you to think about this for a moment: What are you thirsty for? Where are you looking to satisfy your thirst? Are you craving an ice-cold glass of clean, crisp water from the spring of life? Or are you simply settling for a swig from a broken cistern?