Jesus Gave Her Water. (And It Was Not From the Well.)

Hello everyone. 

Continuing the story of Jesus in John, we reach John 4 which contains the story of the woman at the well.  It's likely that you are familiar with the story, but just in case, I will sum it up for you.  Jesus and his apostles had left Judea to return to Galilee, passing through Samaria on the way.  They stopped near a town called Sychar in Samaria and Jesus rested by a well while his disciples went into town to buy food.  As Jesus is resting, a Samaritan woman approaches the well to draw water.  Jesus has a conversation with her.  This conversation changes her life.  She goes back to her town and brings her town to meet Jesus, and he changes their lives as well.

I want to talk about that initial life-changing conversation.  Jesus starts with a simple request.  "Will you give me a drink?"  The woman is surprised because a Jewish rabbi is talking to her, a Samaritan woman.  Knowing that Jews did not associate with Samaritans she asks, how he can ask her for a drink.  Of course, Jesus did not hold the same prejudices as the society that he lived in.  (Also, being the creator of the Universe, he was free to talk to whoever he wanted.)  He responded her that if she knew to whom she was speaking, she would ask for living water.  He defines this "living water" by saying that if you drink it, you will never be thirsty again and that the water inside of you will become a spring that wells up to eternal life.  That sounds like pretty awesome water. 

Jesus is talking on a spiritual level that the woman obviously does not understand.  She believes that he is talking about a literal "living water," and so she asks for some of Jesus' water.  (Of course, if that was what Jesus meant, he would not have asked her for water.)  She asks for the "living water," Why?  So that she would not have to keep coming back to this well to draw water. 

You see, she was looking for a way to make her life easier.  That was not Jesus plan at all.  Jesus was looking to make her life better, but not necessarily easier.  Jesus then began to challenge her about her life. She listened.  She went on to influence a number of other people as well.  I believe that this conversation with Jesus made her life better.  She still had to come draw water from the well, though.  I think the same applies to us.  We often look to Jesus hoping that He can make our path easier for us.  That may not be what we need.  Certainly the woman did not some kind of magical water that would mean that she wouldn't need to work as hard.  She needed that living water that help her deal with the sin in her life.  Let's make sure that we seek that kind kind of water so that no matter the difficulty, we have a spring of living water inside of us that wells up to eternal life.

Tom