John 4:11-14
“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.’”
“‘But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,’ she said, ‘and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?’ Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.’”
And so, Christ begins to deconstruct this woman’s life. He is not physically with us now, but his spirit works on us in the same way. With each thrust of the Spirit’s sword, he turns aside the temporary and carves out the eternal in our souls. He patiently repeats this until our hard heads soften and we can see. He turns this woman’s focus from temporal water and well to her need for an internal gushing spring. He knows, better than she, what will give her joy.
Lord, it is comforting to rest in your complete knowledge of me. You know what needs fixing. Soften my hard head and teach me about myself; where I must change, how I can serve, how I should rest in you. Carve away the temporal, fire and harden the eternal, that I may be entirely yours and truly myself.