A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said to here, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
I believe most of us are familiar with this text. We witness here Jesus and a Samaritan woman by the well. These two people (the woman and our Lord) were on different levels of communication. The woman was talking about water from the well while Jesus was talking about rivers of living water. The woman was talking about a place of worship whiles Jesus was talking about a heart of worship. There is a lot to learn from this scripture but in this writing we will discuss the first dialog between Jesus and the woman and we can find that in verses 10-15 of John 4.
The Woman’s Position:
The woman’s position represents how we as humans place emphasis on our carnal being. She had value for tangible and immediate blessing. Firstly, she sees people after the flesh. Notice her comment in verse 9: “…..How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me a Samaritan woman?” Secondly, she limits her focus only on physical resources. Notice her comment in verse 11: “……Sir, You have noting to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?”Jesus’ position:
Jesus’ position represents how God places emphasis on our spiritual being and on eternity. Firstly, Jesus did not see the woman after the flesh – race or ethnicity. He was ready to offer her what He had in spite of her background as a gentile. Jesus responded to the woman in verse 10 of John 4 that “if you know the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Secondly, Jesus places value on spiritual and eternal blessings. Notice His comment in verse 13 that “whoever drinks of this water (Jacob’s well) will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”MY THOUGHTS:
Our carnal man is imperfect
As humans it feels very normal for us to put value on things that give us immediate satisfaction. Paul admits to the struggles in our carnal nature in Romans 7:15-16 by making this statement “15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 …” There is indeed that temptation for us to put value on things we see as humans due to our earthly nature which responds easily with its earthly senses. However, the bible warns us in Romans 8:5-8 with this: “5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Sounds quite dangerous, doesn’t it? In fact, the bible says in Colossians 3 verse 2 that we should set our affections on things above and not on things on earth. The things that we see are only temporal – whether friends, family, economic boom, security, or even natural resources. The bible says that “Heaven and earth will pass away,…..” Luke 21:33. Have you ever witnessed a nation enjoy economic stability for over a period of time and then starts to experience a down-turn, which tend to result in a recession? Some nations even fall completely, become bankrupt, be considered a 2nd or 3rd world country and unable to rise again. This happens to individuals as well, where a very rich and famous person can become so poor and end up sleeping in shelters. This shows one characteristic of our carnal being - and that is, it is not perfect.Our carnal man is limited
Another characteristic of our carnal man is that it is limited in giving us satisfaction. In fact, economists say that every person has unlimited wants, but limited resources, and that these wants are infinite and insatiable. Meaning, regardless of the level of achievements and amounts of accumulations, we never get to be satisfied. Do you know why? Because that is the nature of our carnal being; we never stop desiring, neither do we ever stop acquiring. Yet, the earth is very limited in its ability to satisfy our desires. Because, at the end of it all there still remains an inexpressible yearning at the innermost part of our being that demands satisfaction from a source beyond our earthly supplies. This is why Jesus promised the disciples in John 14:27 when He was about to leave them saying “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”The life that Jesus offers is satisfying and eternal
That peace in God is what I admonish you to pursue today. Friend, the peace of the world (carnal) may satisfy but for a moment. Nevertheless, the virtues of God - His faithfulness, peace, love, and resource has been proven over time to be unshakable and established. The word of God explains this well in Lamentations 3:22 “22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” In fact, the faithfulness of God can not be overemphasized. Here is what the bible says in Hebrews 13:8-9 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”Friend, if you have been going through life’s turmoil where there seem to be satisfaction no where and it looks as if you’ve reached a dead-end, or may be you might have acquired so much and you think you will never be in need. What ever situation we may find ourselves – whether in want or in abundance - we should not forget that physical wealth is great and necessary, however, they are, yet, temporal and imperfect. Be encouraged by what the psalmist says in Ps 46:4 that “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God.” Gladness is an attitude that resurrects life in us. Therefore, when this river – the river of living waters - gets to you it revives and brings life to you. May you find that river today!
I pray that you will find and drink that living water today. In all our seeking let us seek God and His will. Let us not forget that it is appointed unto us once to die and after that judgment Hebrews 9:27. Mark 8:36 says “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” I want to leave you with this quote by C.S. Lewis about humans and our relations with eternity: “If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world.”
Jesus is the only one who has that life and He gives it to us freely by His grace. I introduce Him to you today. Will you make Him your Lord today? If He is your Lord already, will you want to surrender all that you are and all that you have to Him today? He is calling you that “come, my child I have a river whose streams bring life.” If you believe with me today please pray and surrender freely to Him. He is ever ready to receive you.
Thank you for the opportunity of letting me share the word of God with you today. If you have been blessed please visit the blog below and share your thoughts. Thank you again and God richly bless you.
1 comment:
Great lesson learned. Thank you.
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