Thirst Quencer

Whenever I get thirsty, I think about the most successfully advertised thirst quenching drink on the market. It’s hard to beat an ice cold Gatorade after a long day outside working, playing baseball, golfing, running, walking, biking, fishing…and the list can go on and on. An assistant football coach for the Florida Gators invented the concept of Gatorade in 1965. After complaining to team doctors that too many players were being affected by the hot Florida sun and succumbing to heat related illnesses, team doctors went to work on a drink that not only hydrated you (like water), but replaced electrolytes and carbohydrates lost in sweat. Believe it or not, the Gators actually started winning more games in 1965, and even more games in 1966. While we know that Gatorade doesn’t make you a better football player any more than Air Jordan’s make you a better dunker, it certainly helps, especially when your body needs a boost.

Even though I love Gatorade, it doesn’t replace water. Approximately 60% of the human body is water. Without water, we can’t survive. It’s no coincidence that Jesus used water as a way to explain whom the real thirst quencher is. In the famous story of Jesus and the woman at the well, a Samaritan woman asks Jesus for some water. Jesus responds by saying if she had asked God for it, He would have given her “living water.” Naturally, she is confused, so Jesus explains. John 4:13-14 says, “Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. Indeed the water I give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Despite the fact that we need water to survive, it can’t replace Jesus. That’s because Jesus is correct (as always). No matter how much water we drink, we will be thirsty again. When we strengthen our relationship with Christ, our entire lives change and people may not recognize the person we’ve become. Gatorade and water quench the thirst of your body, but Jesus will quench the thirst of your soul.

-Jacob

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