The Oasis

Do you remember the era of epic movies filmed in vast deserts?  I seem to remember an actor, maybe Omar Sharif, crawling through the sands, fraught with thirst, and through his blurry vision sees an oasis.  As he continues his crawl, the oasis, filled with pure water is but a mirage.  But do not fret he is soon found, and his thirst is quenched!  And his wounds, thirst, and sunburn are attended.  The film makers of that era always seemed to float an oasis that was soon revealed to be only a mirage.

As Jesus’ desert time ended, he too, is attended.  And it was no mirage.

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Matthew 4:11 NIV

I love the use of the word attended in this translation. Upon consultation with the all-knowing GOOGLE, I asked,  what does it mean to attend someone?

“The verb attend means to be present, to listen, or give care of attention to.”

What a beautiful picture of the love and care that Jesus received from the angels.  They were present to listen, and care for him.  It seems to me that Jesus continued to live this way.  He left his desert and immediately began His work.  In the next few years of life as he traveled, he repeated this same attending.  He was present to people.  He listened to people.  And he cared for people; the educated, the weak, the sick, the outcast, the traitor, the lonely, the innocent.

Recall in your mind his encounters with people.  Notice that he was present with people as he taught them with new words.  He traveled to the temple and listened and then taught His knowledge and experience.  He gave His attention to feed, to heal, to look deeply into people’s pain and touch them in the places most needed.  

And then, he met an outcast woman at a well as they both needed water.  Her need was far greater than his.  He offered to attend her and give her living water.  But initially she only saw a mirage of hope and felt the well of her life was too deep for anyone to actually quench her thirst.  But Jesus, stayed present.  He continued to listen.  And He gave her attention.  And once she understood and accepted His gift of ‘water’ she left her desert of unbelief and ran to tell others.  Did you know that her entire village soon came to believe in this living water God. John 4

Our deserts all look different.  But He attends us all.  He offers us the living water to quench us.  Your well is not too deep.  Your pain, your hope, your struggle is not unseen.  He is present, He is listening, he attends you.

And Easter is coming!