“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.”
“The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?”
John 4:14-15; 28-29 (NAB)
I forget that the woman at the well was so excited about Jesus, that she left her water jar behind, when she ran off to tell her friends about Him. She came to the well as part of a daily routine to draw water. She met Jesus there and everything changed. Sometimes, what starts off as very routine, can become a providential moment, when we leave our empty pursuits behind, to seek the more lasting gifts.
The woman at the well became a living gospel of persuasion to her friends and neighbors. Because of her enthusiasm, people listened to her news of meeting the Messiah. She had the kind of zeal that makes others stop and listen, because she found not just something, but “someone” who changed her life that day.
I once had a coworker who was so excited about a cookbook he read, he revised his entire lifestyle and dietary habits according to it. All the recipes were based on a list of foods which keep the brain and heart healthy, while eliminating a list of foods that do not. He was convinced that those recipes guaranteed a long healthy life, and he couldn’t stop sharing the author’s perspective in that book.
My coworker’s zeal to change his lifestyle based on a cookbook, got me thinking. He treated a cookbook with a reverence as if it were a guarantee of eternal life. He was willing and ready to revise his entire lifestyle, and persuade everyone he knew, about his new found beliefs.
It all reminds me of another book, one with a recipe that guarantees eternal life, whose author is God. Within the gospel of John, Jesus shares His recipe for eternal life, and the main ingredient is living water. Only Jesus can give us that living water, just as He told the woman at the well. I wondered if my coworker would be as zealous to change his entire lifestyle to follow Jesus’ words in the gospel.
If only I could be as persuasive of the gospel as he was about a cookbook. I wish I could persuade people of words that Jesus spoke, that not only give us wisdom for this life, but promises for eternal life as well. The woman at the well had the same kind of persuasive enthusiasm as that coworker, except her joy was grounded in hope of eternal life, not nourishing her temporary body.
Some people reject the words of Jesus in the gospel because they don’t want to be governed by a code of conduct written by someone else. Whether they acknowledge it or not, they are already living by a code of conduct written by someone else. People follow rules for health, fitness, parenting, management of finances and ways to achieve happiness. Everyone hopes for a long, healthy and prosperous life, by following some set of rules in order to achieve those goals.
Christianity is so much more than following a set of rules. It’s a daily, living relationship with Jesus, whose Spirit lives in us. Our faith might have started out as a routine, but turned into a lifestyle that brings inner peace and joy. Knowing Jesus leads us to leave our empty, shallow goals behind us, just as that woman at the well, left her empty jar behind.
Jesus wants to give everyone His living water and shine His light in the dark, thirsty places of this world, and we just might be the only gospel some people will ever read. Instead of investing our energy in trying to lengthen our lives, we invest our energy in following and trusting Jesus, whose presence brings peace, joy, meaning in this life as well as for life eternal. The Holy Spirit will always guide us to discern which ingredients are good for our souls and which ones are not.
Lord, we ask you to give us a wise balance in caring for our bodies as well as seeking your living water, to nourish our souls, so that we may live better lives, and not just longer ones. Amen
