Water That Leads to Life

Jesus had been traveling through Samaria, north of Jerusalem. He was tired and thirsty. As he sat by a well, he asked a Samaritan woman to draw up water for him. She was shocked that a Jew would ask her for water, since in the first century, there was little love between Jews and Samaritans.

The perplexed woman asked Jesus: “How is it that you, despite being a Jew, ask me for a drink, when I am a Samaritan woman?”

Jesus answered: “If you had known the free gift of God and who it is that says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Jesus further explained to her: “Everyone drinking from this water will get thirsty again. Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.”​—John 4:1-15.

To what water did Jesus refer?

THE Bible calls the Creator, Jehovah God, “the source of living water.” (Jeremiah 2:13) Life is a gift from God, and our existence depends upon availing ourselves of the water he provides, both in a physical sense and a spiritual sense.

There has never been more of a need for spiritual guidance than there is today. Indeed, it could be said that a spiritual drought plagues our planet. People thirst for answers to such questions as: Where are the dead? Is there hope of ever being reunited with them? Why does God permit suffering? Will the future bring relief from war, crime, famine, and sickness? Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that satisfying answers to these questions can be found in the refreshing “waters” of God’s Word, the Bible.

 When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, as described earlier, he alluded to the life-giving waters of truth that we can find flowing from God’s Word. Jehovah’s Witnesses invite you to taste the pure waters of truth. This invitation is expressed in the last book of the Bible: “Let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.”​—Revelation 22:17.

To learn more about how God’s Kingdom will benefit mankind, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses at the nearest Kingdom Hall or write to the appropriate address listed on page 5 of this magazine. You may also consult the Web site www.watchtower.org.

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HAS RELIGION QUENCHED MAN’S THIRST?

Simply going to church or claiming to be religious does not bring a person into contact with refreshing waters of truth. The fact is, many of today’s mainstream religions have added to man’s problems rather than solved them. Consider one example: In times of war, Catholics have killed Catholics, Protestants have killed Protestants​—with both sides imploring God for victory!

Added to that are numerous reports of church scandals involving clergymen who have embezzled funds or sexually abused minors. Truly, the waters dispensed by most religions are polluted. (Revelation 17:4-6; 18:1-5) The situation is as described in the Bible at Titus 1:16: “They publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works.” For the most part, religion has done little to quench man’s thirst in these times of spiritual drought.

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In 19 chapters, the 224-page publication What Does the Bible Really Teach? explains the Bible’s answers to such basic questions as:

“What is God’s purpose for the earth?”

“Where are the dead?”

“Are we living in ‘the last days’?”

“Why does God allow suffering?”

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You can find the ‘waters of truth’ at your local Kingdom Hall