Thirsty?

Who Is Jesus to You?  Day 3 Reading: John 4:1-42

John 4:4a. 13-14 (NLT)  He [Jesus] had to go through Samaria…Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.  But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."

I have always been drawn to verse four where it says, “He [Jesus) had to go through Samaria (emphasis, mine).”  For a Jew in Jesus’ day, there was nothing further from the truth.  Jews avoided Samaria at all cost.  They despised the Samaritans to such a degree that to rub shoulders with them was to become ceremonially unclean.  Jews traveled out of their way to avoid going through Samaria.  Yet Jesus made a special point of going there. 

Jesus loved people so much and was so committed to His mission that He went through Samaria in order to have a divine appointment with an outcast, Samaritan woman.  This woman had three strikes against her from the get-go.  She was a woman, a Samaritan, and she had a reputation as a sinner.  All of these things would have rendered her “off limits” for any self-respecting Jew, but Jesus went out of His way to give her life and change her life forever.

He does the same for us.  Because He loves us so much, He pursues us, longing to give us life and change our lives forever.  How does He do this?  He gives us living water. This is not water pulled from a well dug in the ground – water gotten by our own efforts.  This is living water -- His life within us that perpetually springs up from our soul giving us abundant, eternal life.  This water cannot be obtained by human effort.  Rather, it is the free gift of God. The moment we accept Jesus as our Savior, His living water is readily available to us.   We can fully enjoy this thirst quenching water as we trust Him with every part of our lives, daily walk in the awareness of His presence and  stand on the promises of His Word.   

                   

What does Jesus mean to me?  He is everything to me.  He is my source of abundant life here and now, and He is my hope of eternal life in Heaven- with Him! 

   

Lord, may each of us who have received your living water be like the Samaritan woman and share it with others.

Written by guest blogger, Patty Deiter. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj