Thirst…… written by Alan Wimbish
There’s nothing like a cold refreshing glass of water on a hot day. It satisfies like no other. Most of us are probably familiar with the story of the woman at the well. I just want to point out three things. First of all, Jesus. He made no allowance for the bigotry that existed between Jews and Samaritans. He had a divine appointment with a Samaritan woman. Jesus sees people for who they are; people in need of a shepherd and in need of love. Jesus was thirsty. The God of all creation who created all of the water on the planet, was thirsty. In John chapter one, John says that he became flesh. Jesus never put aside his diety, but willingly subjected himself to the limitations of the flesh. The Bible says in a couple of other passages that Jesus was tired so he slept (in a boat) and another time he was hungry (during his temptations from Satan in the desert). Every day of his earthly life, Jesus was subject to the limitations of the flesh. He understands what you and I go through on a daily basis. He is a God who is approachable and knowable.
The next thing that I want to point out is the Samaritan woman. She was an outcast in her village. A life of sin had led her to this point in her life. Without love and feeling ashamed, she had built up a wall in her life. Although she was a real life person that really existed in history, she is also a picture of you and me. She was a sinner and her life reflected it. She was drawing water at noon, in the heat of the day, and all by herself because she was an outcast. The women of the village would come to draw water for their daily needs in the cool of the morning and with other women, not in the heat of the day and by themselves. Anyone who saw her drawing water at this time of day would know that, for some reason, she was an outcast among the village. With this come shame and guilt. She just wanted to be loved and had looked for it in men. Her life of sin had caused her to be callous and hard. We can tell this about her due to her response to Jesus. She is leary of him and questions his motives. Jesus tells her of the gift of God and who he is. When she realizes that Jesus is not like most men that she has met, she begins to speak in religious jargon. But she is intrigued by Jesus’ offer of water that will cause her to never thirst again. She wants this water so that she doesn’t have to come to the well again and draw water on a daily basis. She still doesn’t quite get it. Jesus is so patient with her. Just like he is with us.
He causes her to take a serious look at her sin. He tells her to go and call her husband. To which she replies, “I have no husband.” and cuts it off there. But Jesus goes further and reveals to her that he knows everything about her. He says, “You have had five husbands and the man you are with now is not your husband.” implying that she is living with someone elses husband. This is the first step in salvation…godly sorrow over our sin. Grace is not cheap. If you want the access to the living water that Jesus was talking about you have to clean out all of the junk that will hinder it’s flow in your life. The living water Jesus is talking about is the Holy Spirit. He will satisfy like nothing else in this world can do.
Maybe you’re a believer and you say something like, “I’ve been saved for years and I just don’t sense God’s spirit in my life like I used to.” Drink again! I drank some water this morning and it quenched my thirst, but I will be thirsty again later today. I don’t expect that first glass of water I had this morning to satisfy my thirst all day. Drink from Jesus! Stay with him. When you’re thirsty just call out to him and say, “Daddy, I’m thirsty.” and he will give you water that satisfies. The Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water the day after her encounter with Jesus but this time, her life was different. She had in her flowing a well of water that never ran dry. The things of this earth (earthly wells) will run dry but the Living Water that Jesus provides is a never ending well that never runs dry.
Picture of Alan Wimbish. Alan became a dear friend when I first met him in Albuquerque. He was the State Director for Child Evangelism Fellowship. Alan and his lovely wife, Renee and children now live in North Carolina.
