Living Water

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LIVING WATER

John 4:4-15

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"  8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."  11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

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."

NIV

We begin with just a portion of the exchange between Jesus and the woman at the well. There is enough here to garner truth for our life. There is one truth about Jesus even being at this well, in Samaria. Most Jews would not even travel through this area, much less have anything to do at all with a Samaritan. They would have taken a more circuitous route avoiding Samaria, but it is the most direct route from Judea to Galilee. We wonder what his disciples through about it as he instructed them to but food in a Samaritan city. We can see Jesus had a plan, but the idea here is also demonstrating to us there is no difference in the sight of God regarding his creation. Jesus was there being the truth of God to a Samaritan woman, despised by others, but loved by God. Should we not see others in the same way God sees them? This would apply to race, gender, creed, as well as any social economic or education, as well as physical appearance or abilities, or even they mannerisms or the way they talk, or if they have nice or not so nice clothes, or are clean or dirty. God sees their hearts. The word speaks about this issue in 1 Samuel 16, telling us that we, for the most part, look at the outward appearance, but God sees the heart. Can we set aside all these outward appearances and see people as Jesus does, in need of the living water he has to offer. We have drunk from his well, and have this living water flowing through us. The question is what are the thirsts Jesus is referring to when he tells her that if we drink from the living water, we will never thirst again? Certainly, he is not referring any thirst for liquid. It is a thirsting within the soul that Jesus is talking about. There are two points we can see here. One is the idea that once we have drunk from the living water Jesus provides, we do not have to drink it again. In other words, once we sought after Jesus and found him, there is no need to seek after him again, as he is within us, the Spirit dwells within, so he is here. It would be like when we seek to find a place, or destination, once we found it, got there, we do not need to seek it anymore, we are there, we have experienced that place. Jesus is within, so we are here. Yes, we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus for needs, for direction, for provision, for healing, or whatever, but we need no longer seek Jesus. The second thought is about this thirsting and for what we thirst. If we have the living water, then would it make sense we would no longer thirst after the things of the world? The meaning of the Greek word translated thirst can mean thirsty for liquid, but the same word is used by Jesus when he taught, what we call the beatitudes,

Matt 5:6

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

NIV

Thirsting for something, as in either righteousness of unrighteousness. What in this world would be considered righteous? Position, power, success, money, fame, praise from men, material things, just to name a few. Anything this world has to offer which is only a temporal thing is not worthy of our thirst. We need to thirst for the things of God, for righteousness, goodness, gentleness, humility, kindness, patience, love, joy, peace, the fruit the Spirit brings to bear in our life. This is the water that becomes a spring of water welling up within us to eternal life. We are supposed to be a spring of living water, overflowing.