最近聽了篇講道。傳道在一開始先說了個笑話，原文如下：
There was a man who was stranded in the Sahara Desert, and he was dying of thirst. Absolutely parched and not knowing what he was going to do, he was fortunate when a man riding a camel came close to him. At which point, the man cried out. And he said, water. Please, can I have some water? And the man on the camel said, well, I'm sorry, I don't have any water, but I would sell you a necktie. And the dying man said, a necktie? I'm in the desert dying of thirst. I need water.
And that man on the camel said, well, they're only $4. The guy dying of thirst said I don't have $4, and I wouldn't buy one anyway. I really need water. The man on the camel said, I'll tell you what, I'll sell you two neckties for $7. Well, the guy was too weary to argue.
And so the man on the camel passed by. Pulling all of his energy together, the man continued on his journey. And he spotted, in the distance, a beautiful oasis with an incredible-looking restaurant perched among the palm trees. He crawled over to the restaurant and found the head waiter and he said, I really am dying of thirst. I need water. And the head waiter said, I'm sorry, to be admitted you need a necktie.
(by Skip Heitzig, John 7:37-81, August 24 2016)
大意是有個人在撒哈拉沙漠中行走，身上沒有水喝快渴死了，當他不知道該怎麼辦的時候，竟有個商人騎著駱駝來向他兜售領帶，他立即向那商人要水喝，那商人回答說他沒有水，但可以賣領帶給他；那人想說在沙漠中要領帶做啥？渴都快渴死了，他只需要水，就沒理領帶商人，用盡力量拖著疲憊虛弱的身體繼續前行。
走著走著，遠遠地，他竟看到了一個漂亮的綠洲，無法相信地發現裡頭還有家看起來很棒的餐廳！好不容易終於到了餐廳門口，喚來了服務生，說：我快渴死了，我需要水。而服務生則回答他說：很抱歉，先生！您必須要打領帶才能進來唷！
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下班通勤的時候聽到，我忍不住噗笑出聲，再想想，其實這不只是個笑話啊！
我們在生命的過程中，常常渴望也追求一些"眼前好像急需的、重要的"：金錢、工作、身份地位、家庭、健康、...等等，而忽略了應該更重視的屬靈生命，其實才是一切的根基。與神和好，才能讓我們最終進入永生神的國。
主耶穌曾對撒馬利亞婦人說：「凡喝這水的還要再渴；人若喝我所賜的水就永遠不渴。我所賜的水要在他裡頭成為泉源，直湧到永生。」（約翰福音 4:13-14)
也曾在耶路撒冷跟眾人說：「 人若渴了，可以到我這裡來喝。信我的人就如經上所說：從他腹中要流出活水的江河來。耶穌這話是指著信他之人要受聖靈說的，那時還沒有賜下聖靈來，因為耶穌尚未得著榮耀。」（約翰福音 7:37-39)
很感謝主，20年前把活水賜給我，這麼多年，越認識祂，越得到滿足 ☺️
我選了像撒馬利亞婦人跟主耶穌要水喝；
你/妳呢？仍堅持在沙漠中繼續乾渴而行嗎？
