Lenten Reader | Day 9

February 22nd, 2024

Living Water

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.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

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.)

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.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 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?”

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.”

John 4:4-14

The hot item this last Christmas was the Stanley water bottle. It was advertised to keep your water ice cold for 40 hours. Wow! Everyone thought they needed a Stanley to carry around so they could drink lots of water and stay hydrated. We all know the importance of water to our bodies, so of course we need something like a Stanley! 

Today we read about the woman that came to the well to get water. Now she wasn’t concerned about keeping it cold for two days or carrying it around in a cute looking jug. She just needed to get some to take back home. She was just doing what she had to do every day. 
 
That day she was surprised by Jesus who asked her for a drink. It took her by surprise knowing he was a Jew and that she was a Samaritan. When he offered her living water, she was also confused. Jesus explained what he meant. John 4:14 says, “Anyone who drinks the water I give them will never be thirsty. In fact, the water I give them will become a spring of water in them. It will flow up into eternal life.” The woman left and told the people what Jesus had just told her. Many of them came to hear from Jesus and became believers. 
 
Do we accept the offer of living water in our life? Do we go out and share the news with others? He gives us the Holy Spirit that is with us at all times. We have the Bible as our Stanley that we can always depend on to give us life-saving drinks. We can have living water if we believe in Jesus Christ, and we will never be thirsty again. 

Let the promise of living water fill you this Lenten season! Share the good news with others! 

Molly Lloyd