Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." John 4:13
When you are dehydrated, there is only one drink will fully quench your thirst. Soda will not satisfy. Coffee will not quench our thirst (even though I wish it would!). Sweet tea may taste delicious, but it cannot fully quench our thirst. Only water will fix our dehydrated bodies when we are desperate for a drink.
Similarly, our thirst for purpose, fulfillment, and belonging can only be filled by one thing, or, rather, one Person: Jesus. When we are hurting, sad, lonely, and discouraged, only He can quench our thirst. Don't take my word for it, though! Take His. In John 4:4, Jesus explained to a hurting woman that only He could fully satisfy.
In Jesus' interaction with this woman, He asked her to give Him water from the well that they were gathered around. Next, He told her that she should have been the one asking Him for a drink because He gives living water. His water, He explained, never runs out. He said this because He alone provides eternal life. Eventually, this woman realized that He was not talking about physical water. Jesus revealed to her that He is the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus revealed that He is the Son of God who offers eternal life, and she believed Him. Next, she proceeded to tell everyone around her about Him. She turned to Jesus for living water, and her life was changed forever!
Jesus is still the only source of living water today. He is the only one who can satisfy us. Only Jesus provides meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. He offers eternal life. Will you turn to Him?
Where are you looking to for fulfillment and meaning? Our call today is to turn to Jesus. Whether you are hurting, happy, lonely, or sad, look to Him to fulfill your deepest needs and desires. Spend time with Him today. Go on a walk and pray. Read your Bible and journal. Listen to your favorite sermon. Turn on your favorite worship song and worship Him. As you spend time with Him, turn to Him to fulfill your deepest needs. He alone is the source of living water.
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
