The US space agency (NASA) has expended billions of dollars in the exploration of our solar system. Probes have been sent to Earth's moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. The main thrust of these probes thus far has been the futile search for extraterrestrial life. Even the discovery of fossils or some form of microscopic life would be a major confirmation of the modern theory of evolutionary thought. So far the search has been unsuccessful, and there has been no evidence of life on other planets. Scientists recognize that water is an essential element for all life, so the possible presence of water would be an indication that life had existed at some time in the past. Certain geologic formations on Mars such as ancient lake beds and eroded canyons suggest that water might have been present at one time, and the evidence of polar icecaps reinforces speculation that life once existed on that now barren planet. Actually, water is widely distributed in space, especially in comets that are composed mainly of huge chunks of dirty ice. Where this water originated is a mystery except that water must have been an essential ingredient in the creative process since its components, hydrogen and oxygen, are found in abundance throughout the cosmos.
What is it about water that makes it so important for life and for our very existence? The water molecule is rather unique in that it is a polar molecule. It is formed by the attachment of two atoms of hydrogen to an atom of oxygen so as to produce a molecule in which one end is positive and the other is negative. This unique construction makes it possible for the water molecule to pull apart crystals to form solutions. The individual atoms of the crystal are dissociated so as to become invisible to the naked eye. Thus water is probably the most universal solvent. It is this property that enables it to facilitate the absorption, assimilation, and metabolism of all the chemical nutrients that are essential for bodily functions. Water also has a unique property of expanding just before it freezes; water becomes less dense between 4 degrees and 0 degrees Celsius, and this results in solid ice being less dense than liquid water, so ice floats on water, and lakes freeze from the top down rather than from the bottom up As a consequence, fish are able to survive in frozen lakes.
Jesus used the importance of water for physical survival to illustrate that spiritual water is also important for spiritual life. He offered this "living water" to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:12-14). Just as both food and water are essential to physical life, so are spiritual food, the Word of God, and spiritual water, the Spirit of Truth, essential for spiritual life. How important it is for us to partake freely of both the bread of life and "the water of life."
