A year ago, I wanted to start a blog documenting a real-life approach to healthy living - healthy physically, mentally and spiritually. The following is one of my first posts, based on a book that God used to initially inspire me.
The first pillar in Seven Pillars of Health by Dr. Don Colbert is water. Water is a foundational element of our body and proper hydration ensures that things work correctly. Dr. Colbert attributes dehydration to problems such as “headaches, back pains, arthritis, skin problems, digestive problems and other ailments.” Um, basically everything. He goes so far as to say that “water is the single most important nutrient for our bodies.”
He recommends that you take your weight in pounds and divide it by two. That’s how much water you should drink in ounces every day (so if you weigh 130 pounds, you should drink 65 ounces of water). I picked up a BPA free nalgene bottle at REI (BPA is a harmful ingredient found in some plastics). It holds 32 ounces of water, so I need to drink two nalgenes a day to reach my goal. It keeps it simple – I do well with simple. Water is a daily source of life. Literally. Now, let’s get into some figurative stuff.
I’m a journalism student, so I’m constantly learning about storytelling techniques and the importance of helping a reader “see” the message you’re trying to communicate. They need to experience it for themselves and see it through their own eyes. Jesus was a master at storytelling. Throughout the four gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) you’ll find scores of parables and metaphors, each representing spiritual truths.
One example is in John 4. Jesus got tired (what? Jesus got tired?) and sat down by a well. A Samaritan woman walked up and began to draw water. First of all, Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans. It wasn’t customary for them to talk with women either. So, when Jesus asked her for a drink (what? He got thirsty too?), I can picture the puzzled look on her face when she said, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”
Apparently Jesus saw this as an opportunity to share one of His metaphors. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” If He had said that to me, I would be confused too. She didn’t understand that He was speaking metaphorically, and she just asked him how He could get water if He didn’t have a bucket. Patiently, he answered her, “Whoever drinks this 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.”
At this point, I think the Samaritan woman was getting it. “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Okay, maybe she didn’t totally get it. Jesus was saying that just as physical water is crucial to our survival, so a relationship with Christ is crucial to eternal life with God.
Sorry, you still need to drink about two quarts of water a day – there is no way around that. Water is the physical source of life. The Environmental Protection Agency says that the average person can live five to seven weeks without food but can’t last more than five days without water. Only through a relationship with Jesus Christ, the source of our spiritual life, can we experience eternal life.
In John 15, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” When we are plugged into Christ, we have a continual stream of nutrients and life pouring into us. We will naturally bear fruit when we are connected with the vine.
What does that mean for us? First, it means that we need a relationship with Jesus to be plugged into the source of spiritual life. It also means that we need to stay connected with Him. How do you maintain important relationships with the people in your life? You talk with them. You share your thoughts, your feelings, your fears and your dreams. You ask for help, and you give of yourself by serving. We maintain a relationship with Christ the same way.
When we build our relationship with Christ, we allow in a steady stream of living water to provide life and nutrients necessary to the healthy development of our spiritual lives.
So today (and the days hereafter), focus on drinking the right amount of water based on your weight. Also focus on your relationship with God through Christ, spending time each day to talk to Him, listen to Him and serve Him. The result? A fulfilling life!