May 15, 2019: Water of Life

We often reprint prior devotions that now reflect on the coming lectionary texts.  This is a reprint from a devotion originally published on April 20, 2016.
 
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for giving water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. May we thirst for it alone. Amen
 
Reading: Revelation 21: 1-6 (Click to read text)
 
Stop and GROW:  After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers.

QUESTION 1:  What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text?
QUESTION 2:  What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story?
QUESTION 3:  What stories or memories does this text stir in me? 
QUESTION 4:  What is God up to in this text? 
 
Reflection: What do you look for when you are thirsty and where do you look? Fancy beverages can quench a thirst in a fun way. Perhaps that is why there are coffeehouse just about everywhere. Yet simple, plain water may be the most refreshing and easiest to find, at least for those with a pure water supply.
 
What did Jesus receive on the cross when he said, "I thirst."? Vinegar on a sponge. How awful! But this is what God says in our reading today: To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. (Rev.  21: 6) How wonderful!
 
Let's thirst for what really gives life and let's look for it from God. 
 
--Ruth Gates