A Confluence of Soulmates

We believe in him
so streams of living water
flow from within
and mingle in
profuse display:
splash of sympathy,
sparkle of delight,
mellow liquid comfort.
Spirit meets spirits
and waterfalls rush
to embrace, clarity
leaping with grace
to wash over souls
and leave us refreshed,
renewed and blessed.

Think of a recent moment when that happened to you. You met with one or more fellow devoted followers of Jesus, indulged in honest conversation—maybe also prayed together—and left with gratitude and peace washing through your inner being. This is when koinonia, the Greek word usually translated “fellowship,” comes to life in the community.

I have found this to be particularly true when I am one-on-one with a sister in Christ who shares openly what she is experiencing in her walk, or what the Lord is teaching her. And I share, too. That is when the label “soulmates” comes to mind. I am blessed to experience it here in my home, with my husband and son, as we meditate on Scripture and pray together. And there are those times at church when shared praise, compassion or concern touch each of us, and we are bonded yet more closely.

Last week I focused on the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” as it was linked with Jesus’ grace and God’s love in Paul’s farewell blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14. There we were focusing on Jesus’ gracious offer of salvation and God’s love underlying it all, then the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives in the believer and is their “companion of the Road.” The Spirit gives us close relationship with God the Father and Jesus; the Trinity is one, each part revealing to us the whole character of God. That intimate relationship between them is offered to us as well when we are truly set apart, consecrated to him (John 17.19).

In Jesus’ prayer just before his arrest, recorded by his disciples, he prayed that all future believers as well as his disciples would have both horizontal unity between them and vertical unity with the Trinity, putting it in clear terms. He asked:

²¹ that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. ²² The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one– ²³ I in them and you in me– that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.  (Jn. 17:21-23 NET)

Wow! He really emphasized that element of being “one”! And he made sure that we would have help in becoming “one” through being one with him, “one” with the entire Trinity.

He had spoken to the woman at the well about the gift of “living water” that could be hers:

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² . . .  ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:10-14 NIV)

There we have it: living water is that new everlasting life that comes from belonging to Jesus. He is the source of that spring that constantly ripples, never running out. It is not only a promise for the future, but a spring currently active within us.

Then when he spoke to his disciples about the “living water” that was going to be poured into them and out into the world, he had specified that the overflow would come because of the Spirit  living in them:

 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (Jn. 7:38, 39a NIV)

This is precious truth from the mouth of Jesus himself.  The rivers of living water “flow from within them.”  That means they come out—they overflow.

The  rivers of living water flow from within us. We become sources of the living water as well, sharing it with those around us. It definitely can invite thirsty not-yet-believers to come to the River of Life. That spring is an overflow of the saving grace of Jesus, God’s love, and our close relationship with God’s Spirit, flowing out of us to offer that water that brings life to others!

But there is another key aspect of it: when we share with another believer, or in a group or community of Jesus’ followers, the spring within us touches them and the spring within them reaches us. It results in a sharing of this common attachment to God through his Spirit. When this reality is lived out, it becomes true “fellowship” that refreshes each believer involved. Paul wrote about how that would encourage believers in Philippi and give him joy as well:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. (Phil. 2:1-2 NIV)

As we all know, experiencing this kind of unity or fellowship does not always happen just because the people around us are also believers. The rest of those qualifications are what make it possible:  the “ifs” that are listed. Being one with Christ and comforted by his love, sharing that fellowship that we have with his Spirit who lives in us and guides us—these are essential to being refreshed by that living water that is welling up inside us. the stream is active, an ongoing relationship being lived out our Lord. Jesus did not use the metaphor of a quiet, peaceful pool of water. Instead, his Spirit living in us is  like a spring, never stagnant, constantly having its water renewed from the Source. That requires constant deep attachment to him.

And it is not to be quietly kept in a jar, just for us. We are to share “in the Spirit.” When we truly do that, not just sharing out of our own preoccupations or assumptions, but listening to that live Counselor within and joining in the conversation with a soulmate, we can find joy in our mutual Companion, letting tenderness and compassion overflow to refresh others. Listening carefully, sharing, we are refreshed ourselves.

Therefore begins this request to have unity in Philippians 2:1.  What is that word referring to? It is the reality  taught in chapter 1 that we are constantly growing, and that growth depends on our attachment to Christ:

  ⁶ For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. . .⁹ And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more  in knowledge and every kind of insight ¹⁰ so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.  (Phil. 1:6, 9-11 NET)  

That growth in love through secure attachment to the Vine, Jesus, (John 15:5) produces the fruit: right living that glorifies our Master. When we show hateful disunity, that dishonors him. He is busy at work in us to make our love grow so that it is able to discern the right words to say, the right way to behave, the right way to honor Christ by a pure overflow of streams of his living water. As we grow more and more adept at doing this, we bring him praise.  That praise is not just vocalizing our praise to him! It is also sharing in the Spirit and doing it in love.

So when Paul wrote those closing words to the believers in Corinth, he was underlining that Christ’s grace and God’s love give us the Spirit living with in us, walking with us, our true Companion and Counselor. And he was also urging them to share the living water that bubbles within them with others in their lives who also enjoy that same inner living water.  Let it overflow and bring encouragement and the way to live in peace with each other:

 ¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you . . .¹³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor. 13:11, 13 NET)

Let’s see who we can refresh today, or the next time that we are with another child of God! And let’s let those streams of living water flow out to those who do not walk with him yet, but would love to not be thirsty ever again!