World Water Day and Your Mission

Through our faith in action on World Water Day, many will come to know Him as they are provided with sanitary water, a precious gift that many around the world do not have access to. Throughout scripture, God’s people are commanded to take care of those who are downtrodden and need justice. Mark 12:31 summarizes this as, “And the second like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[1] This means we are to take care of the physical, spiritual and mental needs of our neighbors. Jesus promises in Mark 9:41, “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”[2] Jesus promises those who provide for the needs of others in His name, will be with Him in heaven.

Most of the body is made up of water. In fact, according to WebMD, “Your body is composed of about 60% water.”[3] This water helps with various functions throughout the body including digestion and circulation. Without water, these systems do not work properly.

Water in Our World

Most people do not have access to sanitary water. According to WHO, “663 million people rely on unimproved sources”[4] People who drink from these sources often times do other things, including laundry in the water source. This makes the water unsanitary for other people to drink. They do not have an access to a well, except for if it is four miles away from the village. This means children are not able to go to school, because they are too busy getting drinking water.

Many people die from water related diseases every year because of their lack of clean water. These diseases include Cholera and diarrhea. According to WaterAid, “Around 315,000 children under-five die every year from diarrheal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation. That’s 900 children per day.”[5] This is a tragedy. If these children had clean water, they would not have to die from water-borne diseases.

The number of people living without fresh drinking water is rising every year. According to the World Bank, “By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions or countries with absolute water scarcity.”[6] If we don’t act now, then more people will suffer due to their lack of clean water.

What God Says

What does God say about providing for the needy? In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus talks about the second coming and separating the sheep (believers) from the goats (non-believers). The believers are commended for their acts of service to the poor and needy, while the non-believers are sent away because they didn’t recognize Jesus in the needy. Each person who lacks clean water is Jesus in disguise. Often times, they do not even know of Christ’s love for them. Providing clean water for them is a great way to open those areas for the Good News. They may not listen to someone who shares Christ’s love, but once they see it in action, many people wonder why they are doing it.

World Water Day

March 22 is World Water Day. This day is an opportunity to provide access to clean water for the millions who live without it. They do not have to face another day of having unsanitary water. In addition, as was mentioned above, World Water Day is a great opportunity to share Christ’s love with those who may never have heard of Jesus before.

Jesus wants us to share His love with people in tangible ways. In developing nations, many people do not have access to sanitary water. God wants us to put our faith into action. Clean drinking water can be a great way to share Christ’s love with people in the third world on World Water Day.

If you want to provide clean water for a village in Asia, you can check out Gospel for Asia’s World Water Day opportunities.

WaterAid also provides many great ways to get involved.

[1] Mark 12:31, New King James Version

[2] Mark 9:41, New King James Version

[3] WebMD, http://www.webmd.com/

[4] World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs391/en/

[5] WaterAid, http://www.wateraid.org/us

[6] World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water/overview
*NOTE: Gospel for Asia Inc. is the editor of this post.

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