Samaritan woman at the well: Pt.3

The woman said to him,
“Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus just said He could give her living water, and the Samaritan woman very obviously does not understand what He's talking about, because she tells him the well is deep and He has no bucket.

I think there's something more going on in this statement of the well's deepness, though, although the woman who spoke the words didn't know it. So often, we try to provide our own water. We want to rely on ourselves. I think of this especially when I'm trying to overcome temptation. But the cistern is deep and we have no bucket. Our sin is deep and we have no way out alone. Everything we need and want is in a deep well and we have no bucket. But instead of asking our Father for water, we are reaching over the edge frantically, trying to reach the water, almost falling in. As long as we're alone, the well seems too deep for us to ever get whatever it is we want or need. Then Jesus comes along and says, "You could have just asked."

The woman then asks if Jesus is better than Jacob (spoiler alert: He is). He just asked for a drink and then said He actually could give her living water instead (why would you want to drink water that is alive? Waters of Mars...run!) But Jacob and his sons dug this well and drank from it? What better water does He have? Possibly, she's asking why this water isn't good enough, since it's what Jacob drank.

Then here's the kicker: Jesus says He has water which will quench thirst eternally. Drink this water, and you will never thirst again. It will bubble up inside you into an eternal stream and you will live forever! So imagine that you're at a well, trying desperately to reach the water without a bucket, when Jesus comes over and says, "You could have just asked." But he doesn't have a bucket with Him. Instead, He hands you a cup of water to drink and then you're completely satisfied. Water courses through you, perfectly nourishing every cell so that you're never thirsty. I think it's important that the water is still always there. It's not like you're parched but you don't mind anymore. Your thirst is quenched, truly and perfectly quenched, by an eternal stream.

At this point, the Samaritan woman still is thinking of physical water and thirst and asks Jesus for this eternal, living water. The thing is, I think she's asking for more than physical water, even though she might not realize it. We all have thirsts in our lives that can only be satisfied by Christ, and physical thirst makes us recognize that all is not right in the world. If everything were right, why would I continue to hunger and thirst? We want an end to thirst. We want it to be quenched. And along with it, we want all worldly suffering and uncertainty to cease. And to end this thirst, all our thirst, we are drawn to Christ. Along with this woman at the well, we encounter a man who promises us living water and eternal life, and our hearts and souls thirst so much for Him, although we might not know it, that even though His words seem crazy, we don't run away. We sincerely plead, "Sir, give me this water."

I'm praying for you!

:)