Saturday 23 February, 2019

4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

This passage is so awesome, I was blessed to spend time mediating on it.

The subject of the passage is what Jesus calls the gift of ‘living water’. This imagery can be found in both the Old & New Testament, but John 7:39 reveals it as a reference to the Holy Spirit. Living water implies flow, the presence of God and the power to bring new life. It is important to understand the Holy Spirit flows into us from God and out from us in service to other people.

Jesus experienced the Spirit without limitations (John 3:34) but how do we really know if we are experiencing any measure of the Holy Spirit in our own regular daily lives?

The answer is, there are many indicators of the presence of ‘living water’ in a person’s life but here are two you may have not considered. 1. You experience increasing level of self-disciple (Titus 2:11). 2. You experience increasing levels of desire and opportunity to serve others (which can be seen in this passage where Jesus ministers to a person nobody else would consider speaking with).

So, take the opportunity today to consider ‘how well is the ‘living water’ flowing in your life?’

Lord, today, I ask we would receive a greater measure of ‘living water’ from you and that others may benefit from the overflow. Amen!

Written by David Newton