The woman answers incredulously, “Sir, you seem to have
forgotten, you asked me for water because you do not have anything with which
to draw it. The well is deep. You can’t
even get water for yourself. Can you
explain to me how you are going to get living water for me?” John 4:11 EFP
It’s a fair response, wouldn’t you agree? From her perspective, it is Jesus who is in
the position of need. He can’t even draw
water from Jacob’s well, much less access any of this mysterious “living water”
he mentions.
She sees what she sees, and from her point of view, Jesus is
crazy, delusional, or eccentric at best.
She hears him offering her water when he has just finished asking her
for water. She hears him mention some
gift, but he does not seem to have anything to offer. She hears him say, “If you only knew,” she
would be asking him for living water, but she has no intention of asking him anything
other than if he’s been out in the sun too long.
I wonder how different my response would have been to Jesus
given the same scenario. I probably
would have walked away. If a homeless
man started telling me he could give me living water while I am about to drink
a bottle of cool Smart Water, I would conclude he was angling for a swig of my
private reserve. On the other hand,
maybe I would be intrigued enough to engage the gentleman in a conversation
just to find out if “the lights were on with no one at home.” Come think of it, I can recall wondering
whether the words I heard in a sermon or read in The Book sounded too
far-fetched and incredulous to believe.
How can or why would God Almighty even be talking to me? Why does He pursue me? Why does He want me to live for him? To serve Him?
He is God, he can do it himself after all! How does that work, anyway? I have to ask. I need to know. It doesn’t make sense, but somewhere in the
recesses of my soul I want it to make sense.
So I stay, side by side with “that woman,” so much like me, wondering
and hoping against hope that the Stranger has something to offer.
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