February 19: THE CLEANSING WATER OF SANCTIFICATION
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” Revelation 21:6
The Lord is still speaking directly to John: “It is done!” These words bring to mind other declarations of completion: Creation, for example. Think of the completion of our world at the Beginning, fresh from the hand of God. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and made. (Genesis 1:31-2:3) Whatever God does is thorough and complete. Though our enemy wrought havoc on God’s creation, He will recreate perfectly!
Redemption is another example of completion. Our sinless Lord willingly subjected Himself to punishment for sin; mine and yours and the sin of the entire world. In the sanctuary service, He taught, through the sacrifice of innocent lambs and other animals, of sin’s harmful effects—not only on the sinner, but also on those around him or her. Sin itself is so insidious that it negatively affects the sinner and the innocent, leading them into sin also. Sin is contagious, yet always comes disguised as “harmless.” Jesus became the Ultimate Sacrifice, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world on behalf of sinners. At the point of death, He declared, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) and sin’s penalty was paid in full on behalf of all who would come to Him in repentance. Just after His sacrificial death, He rested in the tomb on the Sabbath, marking the completion of redemption.
We are immediately called into the process of sanctification on the heels of repentance. This is the work of the Lord within us—to sanctify us for Heaven’s perfections. “Moreover, I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” (Ezekiel 20:12 – see also Exodus 31:3; Leviticus 20:8; 22:32; Matthew 23:17,19; Hebrews 2:11). When Jesus makes the statement, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End”, He declares the timeless sweep of His power, involvement, and tender care over all of His creation. The revealing of His plan to destroy sin and its effects is a personal invitation to every one of us to enter into His plan. His readiness to “give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts” is a reinforcement of the invitation. He Himself is the water of life!
Pure water is a wonderful facilitator within our bodies, for transportation of nutrients and cleansing of waste. We often think we are hungry when, in actuality, we are thirsty. Therefore, it is a good thing to recognize thirst. Following that identification, we are more likely to reach for water instead of that tempting candy bar. Jesus refers to Himself as the fountain of living waters (Jeremiah 2:13). In compassion and mercy, He offers His own Spirit personally to each of us!
“The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life…If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 4:14; 7:37