Study 22: 27th November - 3rd Decemver 2006

PGA Chaplain Weekly Bible Studies

Reading – John Chapter Ch 4:10-14.

Jesus (a Jew) is having a conversation with a Samaritan woman who do not usually associate together. Jesus has just asked her for some water at a well where he rests and Jesus says to her:

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life”(John Chapter 4 verses 13 to 14 (New International Version).

One of the attractions of playing golf is the feeling, hope or misconception that the perfect round of golf is just ahead of you. After the game amongst friends we often hear the conversation go something like this; “if only” I had of sunk that putt or didn’t miss the fairway. Golf is a work in progress for most of us, and the hope of playing the perfect round awaits most of us.

In 1987 the German Golfer Bernhard Langer won the US Masters and was ranked the number one player in the world. He reached the pinnacle of his golfing career. He was also married with children, had all the money and fame that being a US Masters Champion brought him. Yet he has said that in spite of all this success; he was restless and unsure of what else there was to life. He was still thirsty for life and its meaning.
He was invited along to a bible study on the US Tour by Bobby Clampett, a former player and now Golf commentator. There he found out about having a relationship with Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour and found a peace, joy, hope and life that golf could not give.
Jesus in our reading above says that he can give anyone water that will satisfy them for life. What is this water? The water Jesus is referring to is himself, and the life he will give to rescue us from our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (this is God) that will come to our hearts. What Bernhard Langer has found is the same as all those who turn to Jesus Christ and believe in him as the Son of God and Saviour have found; and that is the very purpose for our existence. We mistakenly think life is about ourselves or what we can accomplish or who we can help or how much money and shares we can possess. The problem with this is that we can lose any or all of them in an instant. We see it in life, in business, in professional golf and as a result people’s identity is in crisis.
The real purpose for life is found in our creator.
Jesus gives us a deep peace about life, about what is valuable and worth living for, direction to help us through life and most importantly, hope in life beyond the grave.
As Jesus hints at, with normal water, in a short time we will be thirsty again. Many of us can never get enough golf or work or sex or alcohol or drugs to give us meaning and peace to our lives. This is a bit like drinking water, soon you will thirst for more.
With Jesus though, meaning to life has an eternal aspect to it, not just temporary. His death brings forgiveness that lasts forever. His rising from the grave means the eternal gates have been opened to all those who seek to enter through Christ. The life Jesus gives, produces in us a life of joy and peace that cannot be contained.
Find out more about Jesus by reading his life and talking to him through prayer.

Prayer. Gracious God, We thank you that Jesus gives us living water that lasts for eternity. Help us to have that eternal perspective to our lives that Jesus gives and not be distracted by the things that don’t last. Thank you for the many good things in life we can enjoy like our family and friends, golf, working and helping others.