"The Right Response"

   Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
   And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.
   Then he said, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
   "Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
   Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink'--let her be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."
   And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.
   Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.
   And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher."
   So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she hastened and let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink.
   And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."
   Then she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
   And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
   So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there rooms in your father's house for us to lodge?"
   So she said to him ... Genesis 24:10-25

Today when I asked the Lord what He wanted me to share, He said, "Take a look at Rebekah at the well." So here we are and to be honest the thing that struck me was the ten camels! I don't know that I ever really thought about how much work she had to do to carry through with her commitment to not only give the servant a drink but all ten camels as well. Did you know a camel can drink from 20 to 40 gallons of water in in one session which means that Rebekah may have carried anywhere from 200 to 400 gallons of water for the camels. And the thing that struck me is that she didit willingly. She wasn't asked to do it, she volunteered. "And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking. Then she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels."

So what does it take to be the one who is chosen? It takes someone who has willing heart to do the work! This was no small effort that Rebekah put forth for a stranger just because she saw the need. It says that the servant stood by watching her efforts because lets be honest... who would do so much work for someone they didn't know? "And the man, wondering at her, remained silent" How about you and I as His followers? We all know that Jesus was willing to do whatever was necessary, for example,  "...Nevertheless, not My will but thy will be done." But the question for us today is still this, are we willing to have a response that always looks to the needs of others? Will we be willing to carry the 'living water' that He provides to a dry and thirsty world?

What if it means a lot of work to make sure that everyone who comes near gets a drink? Do we consider all the effort -- worth it? Jesus said in John 7: 37-38 that we have the living water available to give to people. "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, "out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Do we understand that we to have access to the well? Do we understand the significance of Rebekah's actions as she proved herself to be the chosen 'bride' for the master's son by her response to the man's request for a drink? Her willingness to work and carry pitcher after pitcher of water till all ten camels had their fill was the response that determined her destiny as the chosen bride. Did you notice that as he stood watching he waited till she had completed the task. It wasn't enough that she had said she would do it. 'And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.' He waited and watched to see if she was really the one because she didn't just say it, she followed through and did the work. Good intentions or follow through? Which are needed?

So, anyways ... who is willing? What girl would really volunteer to carry gallons and gallons and gallons of water? The one who is the 'chosen bride' for the master's son, of course!

How about you? Are you willing to draw living water for those that thirst around you? Are their any in your life who are asking you, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?"

What will your response be?

0-25 gallons in ten minutes
Up to 40 gallons in one session
Up to 50 gallons in one day
Rebekah many have drawn as much as 400 gallons of water, if the camels had not had any water for a while! - See more at: http://www.catholic-convert.com/blog/2012/06/15/how-much-can-a-camel-drink/#sthash.NzTKSfHr.dpuf

0-25 gallons in ten minutes
Up to 40 gallons in one session
Up to 50 gallons in one day
Rebekah many have drawn as much as 400 gallons of water, if the camels had not had any water for a while! - See more at: http://www.catholic-convert.com/blog/2012/06/15/how-much-can-a-camel-drink/#sthash.NzTKSfHr.dpuf