re you seeking new life?

. . . Something that will answer the big questions, satisfy the wordless yearnings? Does life seem to lack a dimension--like a portrait that has no depth?

Living was not meant to be a shallow enterprise. It was intended by the Creator to be vibrant and full.

One time a great teacher was passing through a foreign land. In the heat of the day, thirsty and weary from his journey, he met a woman at a well and asked her for a drink.

She was astounded. In her culture, men rarely spoke to women in public. There was also a deep-seated animosity between the people of her land and his. So she stared at this man and finally asked, "Why are you speaking to me?"

Nonplussed, the teacher told the woman about a new life that could be hers if she only asked for it. He compared this new life to the water that she drew from the well. Only the water that he would give her would last for eternity. It would satisfy her spiritual thirsting, the wordless yearning she had been feeling all her life. This water would be "a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

This teacher was Jesus from the land of Galilee. One of the great mysteries of the Christian faith is that this teacher named Jesus was God's Son living and ministering among us. Only he can give life that springs up like thirst-quenching water but satisfies for all eternity.

There are many who believe that Jesus was a good teacher. Not all believe that he is God's Son. They do not know that God sent his Son into the world to restore men and women to a true knowledge of the Creator.

How did he accomplish this? Jesus was executed on a cross. He died that we might have the new, spiritually-satisfying life that he promised. On the cross, Jesus bore all the wrong-doings and rebellion against God of which you and I are guilty. Jesus died for us.

God now calls us to give control of our lives to Jesus. He calls us to believe that he raised Jesus from death to rule over all things. The outcome of our belief is new life, an eternal relationship with the Creator.

Don't be surprised if you still encounter suffering after receiving this new life! Don't be surprised if you enter some very dark valleys, and joy seems once again elusive. This is all part of life, even the new life that we have through Jesus. We have, however, many assurances that God will never forsake us. You will find these assurances in God's Word.

Here are a few first steps that you can take after you yield your life to Jesus: read God's Word, meet with other believers, and pray daily. If you do these things, you will grow spiritually and learn even more about your faith.

Are you ready? If you have decided to accept what Jesus has done for you on the cross, and to surrender control of your life to Jesus, pray this prayer with me: