One of my favourite places in the world is Evian-les-Bains on the banks of Lake Geneva. Home to the famous water, the views over the lake to nearby Switzerland are spectacular:
As befits a spa town, Evian is full of fountains, including those children regularly run through:
Ps 87:7 says ‘As they make music they will sing,“All my fountains are in you.”’ This forms the basis of the song ‘All My Fountains’ and is a vivid reminder that everything we need is found in Christ. The Evian fountains are enticing because they operate at different heights. Children enter in tentatively when the jets are small, only to be captured by them as they rise up. Watching them run through, dodging the water, embracing the water, is a parable of how life can be in Christ. Are we tentatively tip-toeing through the waters of life He provides, or are we gleefully being soaked by them, enjoying the warmth and the vibrancy that He brings?
Recently, both Sheffield and Barnsley introduced fountains into their town centres. Sheffield’s fountain by the railway station honours the city’s stainless steel heritage:
Barnsley’s fountain by the former Town Hall is very reminiscent of Evian, with changing colours lighting up the fountain at night:
Let’s embrace the living water that Jesus promised us (John 7:38) and find all we need in Him.