John 7:38 — Living Water

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. 

Summary: When the grandkids were over this weekend we talked about their favorite Bible verse and what it means. 

What does “Living Water” mean? 

That is a good question. I asked my four grandchildren this question because John 7:38 is their favorite verse this summer. (They learned it in Vacation Bible School.)

Hunter says it means, “A forever life.” 

Nova says, “God will always be within you.” 

Zoe says, “It means that you can always trust God.” 

Grandpa said, “We should read the story of the “Woman at the Well.” In the story, Jesus asks a woman from Samaria for a drink of water. She is surprised because he is a Jew and she is a Samaritan. (They didn’t usually get along very well.) 

Jesus asked the woman for some water and that led to a conversation about water. Jesus started talking about having some “Living Water.” The woman was curious (just like Curious George!). It is funny to read because Jesus is talking about one kind of water and the woman is talking about another. 

We started wondering about what “Living Water” means! 

“Is water important?” asked Grandpa. 

Zoe said, “Yes, we can’t live without it.” 

“Interesting you should say that,” said Grandpa. “That is true, but why would we need Living Water?” 

Zoe says, “Maybe it will make you live a little longer.” Hunter says, “I don’t know.” 

Then Grandpa explained:

“And remember when we talked about the invisible parts of ourselves?” 

“Yes,” said Hunter and Zoe. 

(Nova and Holland are playing with stuffed animals.)

“Well,” Grandpa said, “we have an invisible part of each of us called a ’spirit.’ When our body stops working, our spirit continues. If our spirit is with God, we call that “living.” If our spirit is not with God, we call that spiritual “death.” 

Just like our body needs water to live, our spiritual body needs water, too. People in the desert without any water can die of thirst. Spiritually thirsty people can die of thirst, too. 

If people believe in Jesus, he says water flows from within them. “What kind of water is this?” Grandpa asked.

Nova says, “Magical water.” 

Hunter says, “Living Water,” but Grandpa isn’t satisfied with that answer.

“What does that mean?” Grandpa asked again. 

(Holland wants to know how Jesus walked on water, but that is a different story.)

“Is Living Water visible or invisible?” asked Grandpa. All four grandkids said, “Invisible!” in unison. 

“So if Living Water is invisible, it is water for the …” said Grandpa. 

“It’s for the spirit,” said Hunter. 

We talked about the spiritual part of our lives. It is hard to understand, even for an adult. One thing we know is that believing in Jesus is the right thing to do. 

Application: Believe in Jesus

Food for Thought: How do you explain our spiritual nature to someone who doesn’t know about it?