I really don’t like having to do this, but I need to return to the rats one more time. You see, in the spring, after a delightful winter in which we received lots of rain, it was once again time for me to turn on my drip system in order to water the plants on the hillside, including the rosemary. It was then that I immediately noticed water spraying in every direction from different locations in the main drip line. After turning the water off, I began to search for the cause of the major leaks in my system, and I quickly discovered what it was – it was the rats!

From what I have come to understand, those pesky rats (and other rodents as well) need to keep their front teeth filed down, and the rubber hoses that dispensed water to my hillside had been their  target for “chomping” throughout the winter months. In fact, when all of the damage was assessed, I needed to replace over 60 ft of main drip line, in different segments, in order to get water back to the hillside.

But that was just the first phase, because I needed to tap into the main lines with smaller, individual drip lines to each of my 36 new plants. After a few more hours of work, the new plants are now getting the nourishment they need in order to grow and thrive.

As you might have guessed, you and I need nourishment too, spiritual nourishment for our thirsty souls. The Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at the well was looking for physical water from the well to which she would come each day, but Jesus told her that He could give her “living water.” Initially, she wanted that water so that she wouldn’t have to come each day to the well to draw water, but Jesus told her that He had another kind of water in mind,

“Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water that I give him will become a well of water springing up into eternal life” (Jn. 4:14).

In the end, the Samaritan woman received that water from Jesus, trusting Him by faith, and became a dynamic witness to all in her town that the “living water” that she received from Jesus could change their lives also. Shortly thereafter, Jesus and His disciples left Samaria and headed north to Galilee, and then later returned to Jerusalem where He addressed a crowd with the same message of being able to give them “living water” that would quench their thirsty souls, saying,   

“…He who believes in Me will never thirst” (Jn. 6:35).

Jesus’ intention was to assure them that if they placed their faith and trust in Him, they would never again thirst for any other “spiritual drink” to satisfy their spiritual thirst. And for each of us, He is the source of the water we need because He is the “Water of Life.” Each of the junipers on the hillside needed to be connected with the main water line bringing nourishment to the entire hillside.  

In like manner, Jesus shared a metaphor with His disciples saying that they were the branches of the grapevine and He was the trunk of the vine. And, as we know, the trunk extends its roots deep into the soil for nourishment, and that’s why Jesus told His disciples that as branches, they had to remain connected to the trunk. He told them,

“I am the Vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

To “abide” comes from the Greek word meno, which means to “stay connected to” or “remain in fellowship with.” If the disciples were to ever bear quality fruit, they had to remain connected to Him, not to a set of religious principles or regulations, but to a living Person whose name is Jesus. And, they needed to be reminded that as branches, they do not “produce” any fruit, they just “bear” it. Like the grapevine, the junipers on my hillside needed to be connected to the main water source.

So how do we stay connected to the main water source, that is, how do we stay connected with Jesus, the source of all our spiritual nourishment? Jesus went on to tell His disciples that if they were going to bear any fruit at all, “His words” needed to abide in them (Jn. 15:7). Indeed, one of the most important ways that we stay connected to our “life Source” is through God’s Word, the Bible. And then, of course, we remain in fellowship with Him through times of personal prayer and having connection with other followers of Jesus who are also committed to living their lives staying connected to the Vine.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in the very first Psalm. It’s about bearing fruit, good fruit, which is what I suspect each of us want in our lives. As you read, keep in mind the key to fruit-bearing according to the words of the Psalmist,

“How blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the words of the LORD, and in them he meditates day and night. This person will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf will not wither; and in whatever he does, he will prosper” (Ps. 1:1-3 paraphrased).

Like Jesus, the psalmist is telling us that one of the most important ways in which we can “stay connected” to our life Source is by reading and meditating on God’s words found in the Bible. If we combine that with prayer, which involves both listening as well as speaking, we will learn to “abide” in Him, and by “abiding” in Him, we will bear much fruit.

And that’s what I’m looking for in our backyard — junipers that will grow and thrive and eventually cover the hillside. However, as most of you know who have drip systems, they need to be inspected periodically to make sure that each one is continuing to receive water from the main line. If one has become disconnected from the main line, it needs to be reattached. And this is true for each of us. You and I need to keep vigilant, regularly inspecting our own “drip line,” that is, our own connection to the main source of our nourishment, Jesus. He is the One who provides the “Living Water” that we need each day.

I’m praying that each one of us would be connected to our Source of spiritual nourishment, Jesus Christ, and then stay connected with Him each moment of the day. May each of us drink freely of the “living water” Jesus gives us. Blessings to each of you.