THIRSTY

“Wild, wild horses couldn’t drag me away” — The Rolling Stones, “Wild Horses”

We thirst for love. Some say we’re deficient without it. The Apostle John says God is love (1 John 4:16). If we’re children of God — or at least cast in his image – and if John is right about God, love should play a key role in our lives.

The signs point this way. What percentage of popular songs depicts love? Why do women sipping margaritas at bars speak wistfully of marriage? Why do children cling to the legs of parents? Why do so many young singles give so much time and money to nights in clubs? Is it really just about hormones and the pursuit of sex? Why do romance novels sell so well? Does the boy from a broken home sleep with girls for the flesh’s feel or to chase something even more elusive, such as intimacy?

Studies show that babies’ brain development hinges largely on the amount of touch received during their first few years. The more touch a child receives, the faster and stronger the brain capacity grows.

Years ago, two girls were discovered. Both were six years old and had received minimal human contact their entire lives. Language, mental capacity, social skills, self-protection and promotion were absent. The world starved these girls of love, and the deprivation crippled them.

We need love. We need touch and conversation, comfort and compassion, interest and investment. To live a fully human life, love stands next to food, water, and shelter as an indispensable.

Many celebrate love and tell us of its wonders. Few, if any, can teach us anything about it. Jesus does. He teaches us how to give it, how to receive it, how to be a person of it. He teaches us how to come fully alive, reconnecting with others and the God who is love.

He beckons us draw near, as he did the woman at the well, and promises us living water that satisfies all thirsting. Given our dearth of love, it’s a safe bet that his metaphor of water has something to do with love.

Jesus makes some bold claims. And as U2’s song says, we still haven’t found what we’re looking for. Drinking the living water sounds better all the time.

How great in your life is the need for love?
Where do you seek love?
How do you respond to Jesus’ words and examples of love?

Adam