The Fountain of Life

During the time that I spent in the semi-desert of north-western Namibia, I have always been struck by the presence of natural fountains. One can drive for hours through the red, rocky landscape where there is not so much as a suggestion of grass or moisture, and then turn a corner to be presented with a pool of fresh, beautiful water surrounded by lush grasses and reeds. It is such an incredible sight that I just love watching the reactions of first-time visitors when they discover these unexpected oases in the desert.

As the people who inhabit this desert region cannot all live around natural fountains, there are also many man-made water points out here. These are places where under-ground water has been found and pumped out to the surface, where it is piped to cement reservoirs and drinking troughs for animals. The contrast between the natural fountains and man-made reservoirs (which I shall also call ‘wells’ here) are so stark that any casual observer would be struck by it.

Fountains in this region produce wonderfully pure water, so much so that people can drink it without any kind of purification process. The water quality of the wells is much more of a hit-and-miss affair – if the well is in an area where natural springs already exist (e.g. near a fountain or in a dry riverbed), then the water is good. If, however, people need to dig deep boreholes to access water in areas where it is unlikely to surface naturally, the water can be so bad that it is not even suitable for animal consumption.

In addition to water quality issues, the artificial wells often present a host of other issues that do not arise around fountains. Elephants frequently break the cement reservoirs, water troughs, and pipes in their quest for water. The people using the wells often argue about who pays to pump the water and repair the infrastructure. It is amazing to think that some people experience on-going strife and effort just to produce brackish, low-quality water, whereas others living in the same region enjoy a continual, effortless supply of pure water from a fountain. If there were no issues about over-crowding and over-grazing, there is no doubt that everyone living in this desert region would prefer to get their water from the fountains.

Now, you may think that this whole story about water is really just an issue for desert-dwelling folk. However, we are all living in a spiritual desert, and I think we can glean some lessons from the physical scenario I present above. The Israelites understood the many challenges of living in a desert, and King David clearly saw the parallels between the physical desert and the desert of the soul when he wrote Psalm 63:1 –

O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

This world is indeed a spiritual desert, and all of its inhabitants are continually thirsty. We all need something that will quench our thirst, and we spend our lives looking for it. Yet, just like in the desert of Namibia, there is a Fountain of pure, living water available to all who seek Him (Psalm 36:7-9). Unlike the physical desert fountains, however, this Fountain has enough water for every person in this global spiritual desert. Nonetheless, most people living in this thirsty world seem to be content with digging artificial wells, which (through much strife and effort) are able only to produce brackish, barely useable water.

Unbelievers are forever digging wells in this spiritual desert, pumping out bad-quality water, and fighting over who gets most of it and who pays for it. These artificial wells take on many different forms, but I will use one example to illustrate what I am talking about – the well of reputation. People think that if they can achieve something in this life, earn a good reputation (or even fame), and be praised by their peers, then they have found water for their souls. Of course, the reputation that you achieve must be greater than the reputation of others in order to ‘satisfy’ you, so it becomes a competition. This leads to strife, as each one tries to get the upper hand over their competitors – back-stabbing, heated arguments, and haughtiness of the ‘winners’ over the ‘losers’ are common outcomes of using this particular well.

Sadly, the final result of a life that revolves around the well of reputation is brackish water that does not satisfy the soul, but leads only to despondence – even among the ‘winners’. A good reputation that takes years (or even a lifetime) to build is easily destroyed if you take one wrong step, or if your competitors spread false rumours about you. Even those who have been heralded as ‘leaders in their field’ in their time may see their life’s work being destroyed by those who inherited it after them. The generations that follow them may not even understand their achievements, or could brand them as being trivial once that particular field advances.

Finally, someone who has achieved a good reputation (as they perceive it) will die as everyone else does. They will find that while they lived their lives working hard to pump and drink the brackish water of reputation, they rejected the pure, living water from the Fountain in the desert. Their final destination (as with others who use artificial wells of any description) is an eternity of desperate, unquenchable thirst.

Jesus eloquently explained this situation to the Samaritan woman who came to draw water from a physical well (John 4:10-14). He declared to her that He was the Source of the living water and the Fountain of God, Who alone is able to provide the pure, living water for which every soul on earth thirsts. He went on to say: “Whoever drinks of this water [i.e. physical water] will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”(John 4:13-14). Those who find the Fountain can therefore not only drink from Him themselves, but are also invited to become mini-fountains that provide pure water for other thirsty travellers.

The primary task of a Christian, then, is to make sure that we drink from the Fountain of the Lord all the time. We simply cannot produce this living water without continually drawing from Him. Furthermore, even what we get from Him on one day cannot flow through us unless we are constantly in contact with Him. This was the lesson God was trying to teach Israel by providing them with manna from heaven every day (Ex. 16).

Yet we often forget this lesson, and we try to take the living water away from the Source. Many Christians try to live their daily lives without the Lord, thinking that as long as they came to the Lord once in their lives then they can live without His daily guidance. Some of us try to ‘fill up the reservoir’ of living water on a Sunday, and then use it through the week. This does not work, however. A natural fountain gets its water from an underground source, which continually replenishes it. If a fountain is cut off from this source, it becomes just another well, where the water is quickly fouled by animals, and finally dries up. Additionally, reservoirs that are pumped with water near a natural water source (e.g. riverbed) encounter the same maintenance problems as those that are pumped from deep underground.

If we are to be spiritual mini-fountains, we need to have an uninterrupted, continual supply from our Source. When we cut ourselves off from the Source, sin quickly enters our lives and fouls up the once-pure living water, and our water will finally dry up altogether. This can happen at any moment of any day, and when it does we are no longer mini-fountains that point unbelievers to the Fountain of life, but just another useless well. Furthermore, we cannot make artificial reservoirs and pump water from the Source to keep it for prolonged periods of time. Our artificial reservoirs will crack and be trampled down by those things that Satan brings into our lives. The result of this is described in Jeremiah 2:13“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns [reservoirs]—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

What then should Christians do to remain mini-fountains of living water? Using a similar metaphor of a vine and its branches, the Lord Jesus provides us with the answer: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4). Just as a fountain is a conduit of water from its underground source, and a branch is a conduit of nutrients from the main plant, so we are to function simply as conduits of the nature of Jesus. We should receive from the Source continually, with no need to store the living water, as it simply flows through us in an unending stream.

To do this, our minds and hearts must be set on the Lord every moment of every day. Every thought, every word, and every deed should be part of our relationship with Him. This is what the Lord means when He says “Abide in Me”, which leads to the mind-blowing result that He will then abide in us! If this is truly our continual state of affairs, then His thoughts, words and deeds will become our thoughts, words and deeds. The people we come across in our every day lives will actually be able to taste some of the living water that only God can supply. Once they have tasted it, they will understand that this water is the only thing that can truly quench their thirst. Whether or not they stop digging wells and come to the Fountain of Life is up to them, but we would have fulfilled our task of being a mini-fountain.

I believe that the ability to stay near the Lord every moment of every day is closely linked with understanding just how much we need Him. We simply cannot live a complete life without His living water, and we cannot live a fruitful life in His service without continually channelling this water from His presence to others around us. Annie Hawkes, who clearly understood this, wrote a precious hymn that encapsulates this need…

I need Thee every hour,

Most gracious Lord;


No tender voice like Thine

Can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;


Every hour I need Thee;


O bless me now, my Savior,


I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour,

Stay Thou nearby;


Temptations lose their power

When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour,

In joy or pain;


Come quickly and abide,

Or life is in vain.

I need Thee every hour;

Teach me Thy will;


And Thy rich promises

In me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour,

Most Holy One;


O make me Thine indeed,

Thou blessèd Son!