Water for Life - Pt 4

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” (John 4:7-15 ESV). I have traveled to Israel both as a “tourist” and a “tour guide.” Each time it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Walking in the land of the Bible, Scripture came to life. And additionally we experienced the joy of the relationships that formed with my traveling partners. Of course the sights, sounds, and smells of the Biblical land came alive to me after those travels; but, as I shared the hurt and happiness of the folks that were with us, I was able help them learn that our joy doesn’t come from successes or failures. Our joy is rooted in the source of our salvation. In the Bible, water is used many times as an image of salvation. In Isaiah, the people of God are to find their water in wells of salvation. These wells never go dry, and the water is always refreshing. Jesus, speaking to the woman at Jacob’s well, teaches us that the well of salvation is not found through works or rituals but in him (v. 14). When we drink of Jesus, we are filled with the living stream of God’s Holy Spirit. We do not have to go on a great pilgrimage to find the well. The spring of God’s amazing grace is even now flowing into our hearts. We have our own well at the house. This well is nearly 300 feet deep. There are other aquifers nearer the surface, but the water is not nearly as good in those. We still treat the water with salt to soften it a bit, but it is clear and clean just as it is. It has been filtered by its path through the rock and stone underground. In many ways this is an accurate picture of God’s grace at work in our lives. Sometimes our experiences are difficult and full of pain. The pressure might even seem unbearable. However, once the tap is set, we can find a flow of sweet, refreshing water coming from it. The work of Christ in us has already borne the brunt of the trial in his sacrifice on our behalf. It allows us to rejoice in the fact that he has saved you and made us his own. Even now his living water is in our life. So we can draw water from the well, drink of it deeply, and find our refreshment in God. Are you thirsty… take a drink!