Mekor Chayim -

The Source of Life

by John J. Parsons
Psalm 36:9 (BHS)

For with You is the fountain of life: in Your light do we see light.
(Psalm 36:9)

Mekor Chayim – Source of Life

Long before Plato, King David proclaimed that there was a "divided line" between the realm of the temporal world and realm of the eternal world. The temporal world was finite, subject to change, and pointed beyond itself to an eternal world -- which was the source of real significance, meaning, and life itself.  Unlike Plato, however, the temporal world was not unimportant, since how each of us lived within the intersection of these two realms defined our own posture of faith -- and therefore our ultimate destiny.
Begin
Decide

In the ancient Middle East, a fountain of water provided a source of life (mekor chayim) to people. Water was often carried off to be stored in jars or "cisterns" for use in everyday life.  On a spiritual level, however, a fountain of water represented the source of true life in the midst of neediness, spiritlessness, and the fecklessness that marked human existence.

The LORD calls Himself mekor mayim chayim ("the Fountain of living waters") but warned us that attempting to draw life from the temporal realm was as futile as trying to use broken jars to hold water (Jer. 2:13). Since God alone is the true Source of life, it is the essence of idolatry to attempt to find satisfaction in the things of the world that will ultimately seep away.
Despair

Yeshua spoke of "living water" (מְקוֹר מַיִם חַיִּים) that he would give to those who ask him. This heavenly water, he said, would truly satisfy the thirsty heart and provide everlasting nourishment for eternal life (John 4:14). He explained that this living water would spring forth inside a new heart as a result of trusting in him (John 7:38).

Just as biological life needs physical water and light to be sustained in the temporal world, so eternal life needs the truth of God and the Light of His Presence to be sustained in the eternal world.  May you turn to Yeshua as the Source of your eternal life today.

Transliteration:
Psalm 36:9 (BHS) Transliteration

ki imekha mekor chaiyim, be'orkha nir'eh or.

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