One of the major criticisms levied against Christianity in particular but also other religions that feature an afterlife more generally is that there is such a focus on securing favorable conditions in the next life that adherents don’t bother trying to get much enjoyment or practical use from this life. This kind of mentality creeps into and indeed is perhaps particularly insidious to the minds and hearts of even the believers. We might feel that we are making great sacrifices as we follow the covenant path, regretting all of the “living” we might have done if only we weren’t so committed to being obedient. We can become so assiduous at denying ourselves of all ungodliness that we start to deny ourselves of many forms of godliness as well. Living our lives according to God’s will does not mean that we are to rush through this life as though we were joylessly choking down a plate of unappetizing vegetables so that we can finally get to the hot fudge sundae that awaits us in the next life. Jesus explained to the woman at the well in Samaria that the message and the power He had to offer transcended mere survival. “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14). The water drawn from the well would stop you from dying, but the water that Jesus offered was for living. This life is full of challenges, disappointments, tragedies, and crises. It will lay us low and wring us out and rake us over the coals. If we choose to follow our Savior, we will be required to take up our cross and endure the persecution and scorn of the world. We will have to endure hardship and privation and there will be many tempting things that we will have to turn down and many good and noble goals and dreams that we will have to sacrifice. But all of that being said, we are born on this Earth primarily to live our lives. Keeping the commandments and honoring our covenants and giving heed to the promptings of the Spirit and walking the gospel path are not meant to keep us from living life to the fullest but they are indeed the only way to live life to the fullest. The water that the world has to offer, the pleasures and diversions and philosophies of men and every new thing - all of these can be experienced for a moment but they will leave us thirsty again. But if we will receive the Living Waters that Christ offers us, the waters designed and intended to help us truly and fully Live, then we will never thirst again. The satisfaction and joy that comes from pursuing a more excellent way of living and of creating a better world each and every day will never dry up. If we find that we are counting down the days for the world to end or our earthly lives to be over then we are not receiving the Living Waters. As President Gordon B Hinckley said, “Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” I hope that we will all drink freely and continuously from the Living Waters and truly live each and every day.
