John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
This passage of scripture delineates for us, the process by which the gift of immortal youth may be ours. These words of Christ were spoken to a woman of Samaria who, according to the rest of the passage, had been married several times, and thus to many who observed her choices, her life was a complete failure. But like the rest of us who have been born into sin, Christ offered her the free gift of immortal youth, if she would invite Him into her life. Her interest was immediately awakened, for as far as we know, every human being is interested in living forever, for it is a common desire shared by all persons, whether they believe in God or not.
The Bible teaches us that the fountain of eternal youth is Christ Himself, and that's why the focus of the gospel is to let the whole world know that God sent us His Son so that we might have life and have it more abundantly and eternally. This pillar of truth forms the cornerstone of the good news of salvation, for it was never God's intention that any of us should see death, and that's why the primary goal of the scriptures is to show us how we can obtain immortality through Christ. Let's read:
1st John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
This is as simple as it gets, however we must be aware that there is a process we must go through if the promise of eternal salvation is to be realized in our lives. After the woman's desire for eternal youth was aroused, Christ then asked her to go call her husband, which of course was an invitation by Him to deal with the main sticking point in her life. She tries to avoid that part of the conversation, for the very mention of her failed marriages, brings back feelings of remorse and regret, memories which she ardently desired to be laid to rest. However, it was necessary for Christ to address the root cause of her problems, for eternal life can only be given to those who are victors over sin, otherwise evil would be forever immortalized.
After the encounter with Christ, the woman of Samaria went and called not only her husband, but also the entire city where she lived, for the scriptures tell us that this experience was the beginning of a major evangelistic effort whereby many of her fellow-citizens also accepted Christ, and thus received eternal life. Let's read:
John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word.
In our day very many people desire to drink from the fountain of youth, but some of us are not willing to let Christ deal with the root cause of our problems. Many accept Christ on their own terms, expecting the gift of immortality without complying with the conditions laid down, and so hope is built on the shifting sands of nominal Christianity, while clinging to sin. The Bible clearly states that no one who continues in sin will receive the crown of immortal glory, for Jesus was manifested to destroy the sinful works of the devil, and for this reason, all who truly accept Him as Lord and Savior of their lives will surrender their lives entirely to Him so that our old nature can be broken up and replaced with the fragrance His own righteousness.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to accept God's free gift of immortality in Christ, for by so doing we will be forever drinking from the fountain of youth. Let's read:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
May our response to God's gracious overtures be in the affirmative, for it is not the will of God that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. "Good night" and God bless!