The Samaritan Woman
When the Samaritan woman came to the well she was seeking a specific answer to a specific need. She was thirsty and wanted water. There was nothing complicated about the situation.
Then she met Jesus. He could have been a gentleman and drawn the water for her. She would have been surprised that a Jewish man would help a Samaritan woman, but she would have shared her water with him and then returned home. She would have reached the goal of quenching her thirst. The interaction with the Jew would have been only a minor, but interesting, interlude.
Meeting Jesus
But Jesus took the meeting to a deeper level by offering to give her a blessing she was not consciously aware she needed. Her first reaction to him was based on the cultural situation of the day…Jews (especially men) did not interact with Samaritans (especially women.)
But Jesus did not simply conduct a pleasant conversation. He offered to give her something. Her reaction to this was universal and timeless. She did not believe Jesus had the ability to make good on his offer. (John 4:11-12)
This is the common ground we have with her. Jesus has offered to continually bless us in so many ways but we look at Him with spiritual doubt and say “I don’t see how you can make good on your offer. I don’t understand how you are going to accomplish it. Therefore, I don’t believe you and I won’t base my life on your promises.”
We Can’t Earn Jesus’ Blessings
The woman expected Jesus’ attitude toward her to be “You are a woman and a Samaritan. You are not worthy of my help.” Our reaction to Jesus is often very similar. We believe that we have not “earned” his blessings by living a sin-free life of service.
And we are correct. We are not worthy of his blessings. But from the beginning God’s love has been offered to the human race on the basis of grace, not merit…always has been always will be.
The well of Jesus’ blessings is deep beyond our comprehension. His rope is more than long enough to retrieve these blessings. His desire to draw from that well and share those blessings with us is based on his all-encompassing, eternal love. If we make the doing of his will our only priority (Matthew 6:25-34) He will draw from his well and meet all our needs.
When our lack of understanding of how He will bless us limits our faith that He will bless us, we refuse his offer of an abundant life now and throughout eternity.
