In Chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, we find the story of the woman at the well. Jesus felt weary from His journey and rested at Jacob’s Well in Samaria where He encountered a Samaritan woman. Jesus asked her for water from the well. The woman hesitated since it went against society norms for a man to speak to a woman and against the rule for a Jew to talk to a Samaritan. However, Jesus ignored the rules and in return offered the woman the living water only found in Christ. This interaction culminated with the following verses found in John 4: “39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words, many more became believers.”
This Bible story reminds me of our mission travels. In many countries where we work, clean drinking water is hard to find. In fact, water, in general, is almost impossible to locate. For instance, in Kenya, some women walk miles to reach a small stream to collect water. They often make 5 or 6 trips to the creek to get enough water for the family to bath in and to use in cooking. The journey is back breaking. The water table flows deep below the surface, and the few wells reach almost 1,000 feet deep. In Nepal, summer is the dry season. The water in the reservoirs falls dramatically. Kathmandu Valley, an area of nearly 2.5 million, goes days without water from their faucets. The locals prepare by collecting water when they can. If a drought lasts long enough then even taking a bath becomes a luxury. In our developed world, we take water for granted. All of us should learn to conserve and appreciate it more than we do.
Water provides life to our human bodies, and we must drink it daily. Jesus offers Himself as our living water as explained in John 4:14 ” but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” We can only survive a few days without water or we die. However, life without Jesus offers us a spiritual death. God is offering each of us this gift. The gift of Living Water is yours to claim by trusting your life to the source of the living waters, Jesus.
May the Lord Bless you and keep you.
Yvonne
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
