Still Waters, Living Waters

by Jon

I have completed my 6-month AgriTech course. It has been a wonderful experience and I thank God for the learning experience as well as my fellow students taking this course with me. During the final phase of our course, we have spent much of our time on an internship at a farm, learning how to cultivate crops and gaining practical skills.

It was during this time that we noticed huge 3-storey tanks in the farm that collects rainwater. For a country like Singapore that experiences torrential and often unpredictable rainfall, collected rainwater can help a small-sized farm meet its irrigation needs for long durations without an external water supply.

While we were fascinated by this innovation and the uses of rainwater, some of us speculated that since rainwater falls directly from the sky, it could be clean enough even for human consumption. However, our instructor corrected us that while collected rainwater is clean enough for irrigation and even for cleaning, it is definitely not clean enough to drink. When questioned, our instructor explained that the concern with collected rainwater was not on how clean its source was but rather on the stillness of the water.

He explained that despite looking clear, stagnant water can be a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites. This is especially so for rainwater collected in such large tanks where water can remain stagnant for months, causing the water to have a tell-tale foul odour despite looking clean. In fact, even showering with stagnant rainwater can cause skin irritation for those with sensitive skin, with open wounds coming into contact with stagnant water possibly resulting in infection. Drinking stagnant water can result in illness and diarrhoea depending on how long the water is stagnant. Suddenly, the rainwater that we all saw as a God-sent gift became a threat to health and human life.

However, our instructor shared, in contrast to still rainwater in tanks, were aquifers. Aquifers are underground water streams that collect water from nearby rivers, lakes or even rainwater. Water passes through the soil that acts as a natural filter before entering the aquifers and while, there may still be contaminants, the crucial difference is that the water in aquifer was moving water. Moving water reduces the chance for bacteria and parasites to grow, keeping the water fresh. In fact, some aquifers run silently below deserts, a secret water source that some have harnessed to produce oases in deserts.

Hearing this was a reminder of how Jesus spoke about living waters. People living in Galilee among mountains of dry wilderness knew the need for water, but even they knew that they could not survive on still, stagnant water that would cause death. Instead, they yearned for moving freshwater. They yearned for living water. So imagine their reaction when Jesus proclaimed that the water He gives will be a fresh spring of living water (John 4:14), and that whoever believes in Him and drinks of this water will themselves produce living waters from their innermost being (7:38).

This provides an apt reminder for myself to examine the type of water that is within me.

Is it the still, stagnant water of neglect that has not received the refreshment of God’s fresh touch for a long while, looking clear at the surface but produces an unpleasant stench rather than the sweet aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15), slowly poisoning ourselves and stumbling others whom we give this water to?

Or is it the fresh, living water that yearns for the Holy Spirit’s renewing touch daily and which seeks the daily bread of God’s provision and wisdom, sifted through to take captive of all things not of God (2 Corinthians 10:5), flowing beneath the surface to provide life to even the most desolated wastelands?

May we all experience refreshment by God even as we become a refreshing presence to those around us in our daily lives.