“Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’” (Jn. 4:39)
We’ll never entirely know what happened during the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well in Samaria. He asked her for water, and before she had a chance to put her dipper into the well, Jesus told her He had “living water” for her to drink.
His offer must have been one of the strangest things she had ever heard. And yet, by the time their conversation had ended, she was drinking deeply from Him.
What did this “living water” taste like to her? It must have tasted like acceptance. Even though Jesus knew about her complicated life—she had been married five times and was currently living without being married—she didn’t feel judged or condemned. Being totally known and totally loved is what grace tastes like.
This “living water” from Jesus so filled her that she ran back to town and told people they needed to check out this fellow for themselves. She was a persuasive witness for Jesus because only someone who had tasted His grace could share His grace. She was credible because the hometown folks could see that something extraordinary had happened to her.
Once she had tasted the living water, she was compelled to share what a difference it had made. Once we taste the living water of Jesus, once we have tasted the grace of being totally known and totally loved, once we have had our deep thirst for God quenched, our life is never the same.
Are you thirsty? If you are, and if nothing you’ve tried to drink or fill your life with has worked, then I encourage you to drink the living water of Jesus.
If you already know Jesus as the living water for your heart and soul, may I encourage you to share that good news with some of God’s other thirsty children, just like that woman did with her whole village?
Reflection Questions:
- For the woman at the well, I believe Jesus’ “living water” tasted like acceptance. What does the “living water” of Jesus taste like to you?
- The woman who met Jesus at the well is our model. Once she knew Jesus’s grace, she shared it. Are you following her example? If so, how? If not, what’s keeping you from doing so?
- No matter how messy your life may be, no matter what mistakes you may have made, no matter how you might have failed, Jesus will always be offering His “living water” to you. How might you need to be drinking deeply right now?