Looking Past the Physical

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LOOKING PAST THE PHYSICAL

John 4:15-18

15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."  17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." 

NIV

This is just an excerpt from the middle of the whole story, but there is a truth we should ponder on for a minute here. Jesus had just finished telling the woman that if she knew who he was that she would be asking him for living water that would spring up within her to eternal life. Her response is almost outlandish but in reality is it simply human. Here she has the opportunity to ask, “Who are you?” or she could of asked, “What is living water?” or she could of said, “Sir, I want that eternal life.” But no, what she was looking for was a way to be lazy, a way to get something for free, a way to not have to come to the well every day to draw water. He only thing this woman could see is the physical world of her life, she could not see into the reality of what Jesus had offered her. She was looking at what this man she just met at the well could give her to make her life easier. So Jesus went the extra mile, as he always does, to reveal to her the truth she really needs to see. Knowing full well her life and the facts of her situation, as only Jesus could, he told her to bring her husband back. We all know the truth of this, as we know the entire encounter, but at this point the woman is beginning to understand she is in the presence of not just an ordinary man, but a prophet, which we will see later on. But for now we should understand that Jesus knows about our lives as well, He sees deep within our hearts and knows our deepest thoughts, or secret thoughts, our lives that we may think we only know. If we are harboring anything within attempting to conceal whatever from other people, Jesus knows about it, it is not hidden from him. The proof of this is right here in this story, for he had never met this woman before yet he knew her whole life, and was revealing to her his divine nature, but she still only saw a human prophet. How blind some people can be to the divine nature of Jesus? How blind can some people be to the truth of the scriptures? Why do so many only see the physical world they live in and think they are an island onto themselves, living only for self, perhaps even using a divine opportunity for personal gain. We need to know our lives are and open book to Jesus and make every effort to live in a many pleasing to him. Yes we will fail, we will fall short, we will sin, but we still have make the choice to want that living water, not for our personal gain on earth, but so that it will spring up within us to eternal life. Let us look past the physical.