Drinking From Tub Toys
Behind every human longing is our deepest desire for the joy that only comes from experiencing the satisfying goodness of God. Inside every one of us is a restlessness, or longing we spend our lives trying to satisfy. Some of us try intimacy, others try success. Some look to sex, while others try food. Regardless of the medium we choose, everyone seeks to satisfy a deep longing that exists in every human heart. The truth is, while these things may pacify us momentarily, the restless longing returns.
My almost two-year-old, Lincoln, reminded me of this recently. One of Lincoln’s grosser loves is drinking his bath water. I wish I could tell you it was only the faucet water he drinks, but Lincoln is just as happy to drink his tub water - dirt, grime, sunscreen, old food-filled water - it’s disgusting. Lincoln has a particular set of cups that he plays with in the tub. The problem is, these cups have holes in the bottom, so when he attempts to bring them to his mouth the water has often already drained out. I know he doesn’t understand yet, but I keep telling him that these cups are incapable of accomplishing what he wants them to.
Our pursuit of joy and satisfaction is often just as fruitless as Lincoln’s attempt to drink from a leaking cup. We all have these “cups” of sex, food, status, success, possessions, money, love, and intimacy that we seek to drink from and satisfy the longing within us. Sadly, these cups are incapable of accomplishing what we want them to. God, through the prophet Jeremiah, told us as much. In Jeremiah 2:13 God said, “My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns form themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Many of us have forsaken Jesus as our fountain of joy and satisfaction and are foolishly trying to drink from tub toys that can’t hold the very thing we long for.
God’s goal is to satisfy the restless longing in you with His own goodness. This is what makes the gospel such good news for us. Jesus offers us the eternally soul-satisfying living water of His Holy Spirit within us (John 4:10-14; 7:37-39). We don’t have to drink from leaky cups that leave us thirsty. We can drink deeply from the satisfying goodness of God offered to us through faith in the finished work of Christ.
Augustine wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Imagine your strongest longing satisfied, your deepest desire met, your most constant craving pacified. That’s the living water Jesus offers His people. Sex, money, and status are eclipsed by the soul-satisfying Spirit of God dwelling within His people!
Rest in Christ today. No more drinking from leaky tub toys. Repent and turn from whatever you’ve been substituting for Jesus and receive the living water that will finally leave you thirsty no more.
