“Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13,14
The grace of Jesus to forgive and change sinners is remarkable! On this occasion His grace was granted to a highly unlikely person, according to the acceptable standards of the day. First, Jesus was in Samaria, a place that Jews avoided. Jews and Samaritans were not friendly to each other to say the least. Second, Jesus was talking to a woman. This was also outside the accepted norms of the day. Thirdly, this particular woman had lived a lifestyle openly rebellious to the commands of God. She had had five husbands, and was currently living with a man to whom she was not married. Instead of avoiding this socially unacceptable, uncomfortable and truly tainted situation, Jesus amazingly engaged this woman in conversation, all for the purpose of bringing her to a saving knowledge of Himself.
Jesus spoke to her about living water, a spiritual water that quenches the thirst of the soul. But, Jesus didn’t only talk to her about potential blessing, He gently yet unapologetically confronted her with her sins. Jesus spoke to her about what true religion really is. Rather than a mere outward formality of customs and habits, true worshipers of God are devoted to Him from the heart and worship Him according to what He has revealed of Himself in His Word. Finally, Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah, God’s provision of grace for sinners.
You may or may not have lived such an openly rebellious lifestyle. You may or may not be as socially looked down upon as this woman. But, friend, you and I are both just as much in need of the forgiving and transforming grace of Jesus as this Samaritan woman. His grace is truly something to marvel about. His grace is sufficient to cover the most sinful of sinners. Have you drunk of the living water of His grace?
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