It’s one of my favorite stories in the Bible, John 4, where
Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. I love it because it
demonstrates who Jesus is–that he’s willing, and even eager, to talk to the
whole spectrum of humanity (from Nicodemus, the intellectual religious leader
in John 3, to the man with paralyzed legs in John 5). That he initiates
conversation and relationship with all types of people, even (especially?)
those he isn’t “supposed” to talk to. And that he wants to give life.
But I also love it because of who this woman is. She’s
sincere. She asks him what on earth he’s doing talking to her, a Samaritan, a
woman, and by implication an outcast (why else would she be drawing water alone
in the heat of the day)? She’s a little bit sassy. She pushes back when Jesus
doesn’t make sense. And she’s a seeker. When Jesus talks about living water,
she asks, “Where can you get this living water?”
Jesus doesn’t give her an answer and let her walk away. The
only way to receive this living water is through a relationship with him.
First, she has to admit who she is–the woman who has had five husbands and is
living with a sixth man. Then, she has to believe that Jesus still wants to
talk to her, still cares about her, still offers this wellspring of life.
Finally, she has to understand who Jesus is–the Messiah, the one sent from God,
the one who can offer living water forever.
Jesus initiates. He invades her privacy by asking for a
drink and then by asking about her husband. But he does so because he wants a
away forever. He wants an encounter with her that will transform her, where the
abundant life he offers will spring up within her and pour forth to others.
So where can we get this living water? This abundant life? We
get it by going to Jesus with who we are–with our faults and failings, with our
distinctive personalities, with our families and histories–and by asking. Jesus
is waiting for us to arrive, ready to initiate with us. Ready to offer eternal
life.
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