The Woman at the Well

by Jess Hill

In the heat of the noonday sun, a tired, and probably thirsty, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman. Instead of ignoring her, He asks her to get Him a drink from the well, and then uses the moment to teach her (and us) something very important. He explains that though this water will quench her thirst temporarily, there is a well that never runs dry, and never fails to satisfy. He says to her “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.”

Reflections

How many times do we try to slake our thirst with things that just make us more thirsty? This life is filled with ways to try to satiate our thirst for more: thirst for knowledge, thirst for approval, thirst for connection. No matter what we try to fill our lives with, even things that sometimes seem to be good, the only one that can bring lasting satisfaction is God. The Samaritan woman was not perfect. Jesus knew her many sins, and yet that didn’t stop Him from offering her living water. We don’t need to have our act together before we can drink the living water of which Jesus speaks. Quite the opposite: we can come to Him desperate, empty, and full of longing, and He will refresh us, soothe us, cleanse us, and make us grow with a spring of living water, which “wells up to eternal life.”

Reflective Question

What ways are you trying to quench your thirst, only to find you are drinking salty water? What deep longing can you bring to Jesus today?

Prayer

Thank you Lord that you know everything about us, but that does not keep you at a distance. Thank you that you love us in our brokenness. Please fill us with your living water. Amen.