The story of the woman at the well
has fascinated me for many years.
The reason why it speaks to me
the way it does may be because I am a woman myself. I have been reflecting on what my womanhood really means to me. It seems that I can find some signs
along the way in this woman’s story.
It touches me how Jesus overrides
the social rules of the time to speak to her - with him it is not about our ‘circumstances’. He aims to go deeper than that, to the
centre of our being. He talks to the
woman as to an equal. He truly sees her, he speaks to her and he listens and
responds, honouring her in doing so. He honours her - that touches me most.
The
well of life that lasts forever is the precious gift that he offers.
After their meeting she rushes back and calls out to the village folks, sharing
what has happened. As she goes she holds the gift that she just received, the living
water. It has filled her to overflowing - the true fountain of life.
I have tried to captivate this exciting
moment in my drawing.
The woman who met Jesus at the well is so full of the precious gift that she exudes it. It
transforms her through and through – living water bringing new life.
When I created this picture I
felt God speaking to me about His redemptive power. Nothing is ever lost for
Him. He can turn all our life’s ‘circumstances’ upside down in a moment – for
the better.
He says: 'My beloved, I come to
you in the dry and hard place - even the desolation. I will meet you wherever you are. Lift up your face and talk to me - there is no shame. You are honoured by me. Be
open minded and hearted and let me help you to see beyond how you thought things can be for you! I
am bringing true life that never withers or dries up. Come to the well and meet
me, reason with me and receive my gift of life - for I am the Great Life Giver.'
Here is the full story of our woman at the well:
A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw
water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" (His
disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) The Samaritan woman,
taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan
woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking
to Samaritans.) Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who
I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh,
living water." The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a
bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this
'living water'? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well
and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to
us?" Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty
again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever.
The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of
endless life." The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't
ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!" He
said, "Go call your husband and then come back." "I have no
husband," she said. "That's nicely put: 'I have no husband.' You've
had five husbands, and the man you're living with now isn't even your husband.
You spoke the truth there, sure enough."
"Oh, so you're a
prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshipped God at this mountain,
but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?"
"Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship
the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You
worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God's
way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it
has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to
worship will not matter. "It's who you are and the way you live that count
before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth.
That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply
and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being
itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their
spirits, their true selves, in adoration." The woman said, "I don't
know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we'll
get the whole story." "I am he," said Jesus. "You don't
have to wait any longer or look any further." Just then his disciples came
back. They were shocked. They couldn't believe he was talking with that kind of
a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.
The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back
in the village she told the people, "Come see a man who knew all
about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be
the Messiah?" And they went out to see for themselves.
From the Gospel of John, chapter 4, verses 7-30
All
Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H.
Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Article by Charis Gabriel
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