Blaise Pascal, the French Physicist and Philosopher said it well when he wrote,

There comes a time in every person's life when he or she is faced with that personal void, and the challenge of filling it. Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4: teaches us the only way to permanently fill that infinite need in our lives for the Divine. (Read John 4:5-18)

Jesus seems to have a chance meeting with the woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob just outside the city of Sychar. But, as in all things pertaining to Him, everything happens by design ... in accordance with His Father's will!

The woman herself seems very ordinary at first glance, and in a way she is. She could be any one of us involved in the normal activities of life, until an encounter with the Son of God confronts her with her deepest need. A presentation entitled "God's Plan" begins with the words, "Every Man is seeking happiness and fulfillment in life." That statement encapsulates every person's basic need for a meaningful Life. Like the Samaritan woman, we all possess the need for Love, for Meaning and for Security. And like her, we have all sought in vain to fill that need with the things of this World ... by using People, or attaining Power, or seeking Pleasures or acquiring Possessions.

But until we discover by God's Grace the utter failure of using finite things to fill the infinite void within, our eyes will never be opened to the Eternal One who came to perfectly fill that vacuum! Using physical water as an example, Jesus is about to teach the woman, and us, a profound spiritual lesson on quenching our thirst for Life!

Jesus makes a penetrating statement in verse 13 when He pronounces that water brings only temporary fulfillment. He uses the obvious to enlighten us to the obscure. The Samaritan woman came to the well that day thirsty for something. For sure, her physical thirst was the obvious, but Jesus discerned that within her heart lay a deeper thirst that still lay unquenched. But not because she failed to try!

Jesus seeks to confront her with that deeper need when He asks her to call her husband, to which she correctly answers that she has none. But I am sure she was stunned when Jesus revealed that she in fact had had five husbands, and was now in an adulterous relationship with a sixth man! Jesus knew that the woman was seeking to fill her need for Love and Security through relationships with men ... and without success.

Just as water can never permanently quench our thirst, even so, a husband or a wife can never completely satisfy our spiritual need for Love and Security.

In contrast to Physical Water which quenches thirst only temporarily, Jesus offered the Samaritan woman Water that would quench her thirst forever! His Water wouldn't just be limited to the amount swallowed, but would become within her a spring of fresh water providing an endless source of Life! (verse 14)

You must understand that getting a drink of water in Jesus' day, and in many places even today, was more than just turning on a tap. It required a long walk to a well! While staying in a coastal village in Papua New Guinea, I watched each morning as the women walked to a distant well with two buckets hanging from the ends of a sturdy pole balanced on their shoulders, in order to bring back fresh water for everyone to drink and bathe with. Because of their labor, I learned to conserve by taking a bath with just two cups of water! I'm sure the woman in the story was very motivated by Jesus' offer which would forever eliminate the necessity of coming back to the well again and again and again!

And what does Jesus' metaphor of an eternal spring refer to? To the One who is Life ... Jesus Himself!

Jesus meets our deepest need finally and completely by loving us unconditionally and calling us to be children of God ~ Who promises to provide for our every need. Jesus said that He will never leave nor forsake us. He loves us unconditionally, gives our lives eternal significance, and rewards our faithfulness with eternal blessing. He will always be with us, day after day, year after year ... forever!

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