John 4:5-42... Jesus sits at a well, tired. It's about noon. The gospel mentions the time for a reason. Women who go to the well normally go anytime outside of that time. Jesus knew what he was doing. He knew he would run into a person to heal. He sees a Samaritan woman. This Samaritan woman went to draw water at noon because she knew no other woman would be around to mock her for her past wrongdoings. She didn't know what she was going to get into next.
Jesus asks her for some water. She is taken aback by a Jew associating with a Samaritan. This was never done. Ever. Instead of pointing out right away her wrongs (as she is doing to him), he counteracts by telling her, "If you knew the gift of God who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'" The woman continues to engage in this discussion. She is intrigued. Where does this water come from? You don't even have a bucket? Are you greater than those who gave us this well?
Jesus replies, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman is convinced. Yes! Please! Give me this water always! She realizes she no longer wants to carry this jar back and forth to and from the well. The funny thing Jesus doesn't give her the answer right away. It is in this moment, when she finally accepts the true living water, that He calls her to repentance. He calls out her sin of her past five husbands and current situation. How many times do we try it the other way around? We see someone disobeying the Word of God, or being immoral and we want to just correct them? No. We must model Christ. Love the person. Meet them where they are at. Wait (and pray) for them to fully accept him. Or at least have seeds planted. Then lovingly call them out. Without the light of Christ, darkness is just that... darkness.
In our daily lives we need water as well, obviously. Our bodies are made up of at least 70% of water. Physically, we cannot live without it. Spiritually, this is so as well. Just as the woman engaged in a discussion with Jesus, we are called to do the same. Not just sit and listen, or sit and talk, but actually engage in discussion with our Heavenly Father. It is within this discussion that Jesus calls us into a deeper conversion. The woman had her jars with her every day, bringing them back and forth with water. It was that water that never fully satisfied. When she finally received the living water, she left behind her jars and went and told everyone about this man
. Wasn't she worried if He wasn't the Christ? What if he was a phony? Doesn't she still need literal water for her body? What a total surrender and trust she had!
It is this same surrender and trust we are being called to also. Meet Jesus at the well, as you are. What "jars" do you need to leave behind that you brought with you there? What is weighing you down, which you think is filling you up, but really is just false hope? Christ is there with you. Surrender.
