He saw past her physical thirst to the deeper issue.
His kind did not usually mix with her kind. To be in her neighborhood that day was unusual. Some might even say scandalous. What would people think if they saw him talking with a Samaritan woman?
After all, she had a questionable reputation. She had already had five husbands, and the man she was currently with wasn’t her husband. We don’t know the reasons for all these broken relationships, but we can imagine the deep pain and resulting soul wounds she carried. We can imagine how she felt inside, in spite of putting on a brave face in her community.
Then along came Jesus. He knew her pain and knew her past. And he reached out with a divine sensitivity that she had never experienced before. He saw past her physical thirst to the deeper issue. He loved her where she was at.
As they stood at the well together he said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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” (John 4:13-14).
After that encounter, “many of the Samaritans of that city believed in [Jesus] because of the word of the woman who testified.” When you experience God’s unconditional love, you want to share it.
Maybe you can relate to this woman’s pain. Maybe you’re feeling unloved, rejected, questioned, misunderstood, or lonely. Maybe you’re wondering if you’ll ever find your “person” who truly loves you. The Good News is there is such a person. His name is Jesus and he sees you and knows your deepest longings. He promises to be with you and never leave you. He “sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6).
Let’s pray:
Dear Lord, thank you for taking the pain I’ve experienced in past relationships and redeeming it for good as I follow you. Thank you for loving me in spite of my faults and brokenness. Deep down I desire to be loved and to love others well. I confess that I can’t do this apart from you. Give me grace to receive more of your divine love today that I have it to pour out to others. Teach me to have healthy attachments with the people you have put in my life for your purposes. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.