Come to the Table 4: Fountain of Life
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,Jesus Christ Himself is the fountain of life. On the last and greatest day of the feast He stood up in the Temple and proclaimed: ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink’ (John 7:37). To the Samaritan woman at the well, He said: ‘whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst’ (John 4:14), for the water He gives is ‘living water’ (John 4:10). Jesus is the only source of the living water, the water that wells up to eternal life. So Jesus Himself is the only true fountain of life.
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light. (Ps 36:8-9)
But unlike in legends of the fountain of youth, there are no heroic tasks or epic challenges for us to fulfil in order to drink from the fountain of life. We don’t have to voyage across the seven seas, collect the tears of a mermaid, fight pirates, or prove ourselves by our valour and efforts in any more mundane ways. Instead of sending us to find the fountain and work hard for a drop of its life-giving water, the Lord Himself simply invites us to come to Him and drink. The valour and the work, the merit and the conquest are all His (not ours!). But as a generous and gracious host, He invites us to His Table to drink from the river of His pleasures.
For this life of which He is the fountain isn’t a dreary life. It isn’t a long, hard slog. It’s a life filled with His pleasures. It’s a life of joy and satisfaction in Jesus. It’s a life in which we’re blessed ‘with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ’ (Eph. 1:3). It’s a life in which we know the pleasure of resting in Jesus. For as He invites us:
Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)And Jesus invites us to come and experience this life as we drink. So as we lift the cup to our lips at the Breaking of Bread, we drink knowing His promise of a life in His pleasure. As we drink the New Covenant in His Blood, we know that this New Covenant means a new life, an abundant life. Our old life has been put to death through the death of Jesus. And so, through His Blood, we have entered into that new life in the blessing and joy of Christ. The life of which He is the fountain.
O Christ, He is the Fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love;
The streams on earth I’ve tasted,
More deep I’ll drink above;
There to an ocean fulness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.