FROM THE NATURAL TO THE SPIRITUAL
By Rev. J. Loren Russell, BA, MDiv
Scripture (John 4:3 – 14 CEV):
“Jesus left Judea and started for Galilee again. 4 This time he had to go through Samaria, 5 and on his way he came to the town of Sychar. It was near the field that Jacob had long ago given to his son Joseph. 6-8 The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and after Jesus’ disciples had gone into town to buy some food, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.
Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”
9 “You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won’t have anything to do with each other?”
10 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God wants to give you, and you don’t know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water? 12 Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. 14 But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”
There are some natural tendencies that we have just because we are human beings. We hunger, we thirst, we get tired, experience pain, joy, sorrow and love. Needless to say, if we did not experience these sensations and satisfy them, we would not., No! we could not live very long. These natural tendencies are indicators of our aliveness. Without them, we are just inanimate objects. Every living creature in God’s creation have these natural tendencies in one form or another. Many also have the need for emotional nutrition. Animals of all kinds display affection to one another to one degree or another. His agricultural creation likewise exhibits the need for nurture as they intertwine their roots beneath the earth to strengthen their ability to withstand gale-force winds, floods, and all types of inclement weather.
In the text, we find Jesus at Jacob’s Well where He finds a comfortable spot to rest because He was tired, as He waited for His disciples to get back from town where they had gone to purchase food. Jesus sees a Samaritan woman coming to get water and asked her if she would give Him a drink. Significant in many ways; one was that the Samaritans, who were considered half-breeds, were despised and avoided by Jews. Another is because men did not speak to women in public in that culture. But it was water. He was thirsty. And she had a bucket to dip in the well.
What started out as a request for a remedy for a natural need, i.e., water to quench a thirst, turns into a spiritual remedy with eternal consequences. She can provide water from Jacob’s Well that will quench His thirst, but He offers her water that would give her eternal life. He explains to her that H2O, even if it comes from the well that Jacob dug, only provides a temporary solution that will have to be repeated countless times in the course of one’s life; but not so with the water that comes from His well.
When you read this entire periscope, you soon find that water, even if it comes from the Well of Jacob who was the patriarch of the faith, has no properties in it that can gain anyone favor in the sight of God. This woman at the well was first and foremost a sinner, as we all are. She needed a savior, not a glass of water. Jesus calls her out by telling her that she is living in adultery. He already knows who we are. If water were the remedy, 2/3 of the earth is covered with that. She could have jumped in or drank from any number of places. But the soul is in need of spiritual refreshing. It wasn’t the water. It was the salvation. She was in need of a savior! What I find very interesting is that Micah (7:19), tells us from the Old testament what the Lord does with water; “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” He uses water to drown our sins that He has removed from our souls. For that, we should be encouraged.
Be Blessed +++
Rev. J. Loren Russell, BS, MDiv, is President/CEO of The JLR Company, and an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, NY. He also hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” (http://tobtr.com/s/7436671 or by phone at 646-226-1448) on Soul 1 Radio (internet) Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM.
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