"You're not sick, you're thirsty"
Last night at RUF, we had a guest speaker, so the talk wasn't about Isaiah like normal. This talk was over John 4 - Jesus and the woman at the well. I've always looked at this story as being a little silly, but our speaker opened my eyes to something amazing that lies within this passage.He started off with an analogy - You're thirsty, so you want to drink something. Soda tastes better than water (to most), but will leave you more dehydrated in the end than when you began. As a result, your body thirsts for it more and the cycle continues without any hopes of becoming hydrated again. We know we should drink water, but we go for what pleases us more than what is best. (Just go with the analogy...it's pretty fitting)
So in this passage, we have not only a physical well, but also symbolic wells. We can go to wells of relationships, religion, money, etc. and get so trapped in them that those things are all that pleases us. What we need is the Living Water... Jesus. We flee to these wells in our lives in search of what comforts us. God is all we truly need.
Another good point was that for most of us, attending church events can be considered a well. We participate for the same reasons that unbelievers run to sin (not that believers don't, but you should know what I mean) which is for the rewards or the feel-good feeling. We cannot go for those reasons!! We must go for grace. We must understand our need for grace.
I think the most amazing thing that I realized with this passage wasn't exactly related to the content - it is the way Jesus used every possible instance to present the gospel. I never really understood why Jesus used parables so much, and honestly a little annoyed by them. But now... I have so much more appreciation. You always hear that you're supposed to "live the word of God" and stuff like that... Jesus was definitely the perfect example of this (obviously). He was able to evangelize in a way that wouldn't be considered "bible-thumping." And this is how so many people came to believe in Him!
posted by Unknown @ 2/11/2006 01:21:00 AM
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