Ann Berndtson

John 4:13-15

Thursday, February 22

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. The women said to him, "Sir give this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." – John 4: 13-15

Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Samaria. The disciples went into the city to purchase food and Jesus waited at the well. Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink. At this time in history, the Jews believed that no Samaritan, much less a woman, was worthy of Jesus' time. In addition, men were not supposed to talk with women without their husband present and rabbis had no business talking with any woman.

Jesus did take the time to talk with the Samaritan woman about the Holy Spirit. He did not ignore her and he does not ignore us either. Water in John 4:13-15 is used to symbolize the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells within us as a river of life. Jesus did not talk about the drips of living water, rather a flood of living water for us. If we only drink of the well water, we will be thirsty again. All who take in the Holy Spirit will not be thirsty again and will have eternal life. This kind of spirit and faith in our hearts is always flowing outwards to others by both our actions and our words. 

Questions:

• Jesus violated cultural restrictions to talk with the Samaritan woman. What cultural taboos do you fear which may be keeping you from talking with others about Christ?
• How do we balance our need to obey God and our need to live reasonably in our own culture?

Prayer:

In God's name, I pray for guidance in receiving the Holy Spirit. Allow me to be open to sharing the good news of the Holy Spirit with other people who are different than me. I pray for a peaceful world. Amen