For what do we thirst?

You get the sense that the Samaritan woman is street smart. She's talking to a stranger. She's talking to a strange man. She's a bit sassy. She's a person of dubious reputation. She's probably had to scratch and claw to get what she's got. So when she finally understands what's being offered, she grabs it and rejoices. But this woman is also generous -- she wants to share this gift of new life and hope with everyone she knows.

It's possible that this woman had been an outcast in her own village because of her misdeeds and guilty past. But all of that is behind her now. She takes this "living water" and she runs back to her village to tell others the good news. She eagerly approaches everyone that she sees and says with wonder, "'Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?' They left the city and were on their way to him."

A sip of this water has transformed her life. She's so excited, she wants to share the Good News!

Living water!

For what do we thirst? Someone who knows us as completely as Jesus does and yet loves us anyway? Forgiveness and new life that God alone can offer? A fresh start? Understanding? Rest? Renewal? Peace? To acknowledge the mistakes that we have made and know that there is still hope for us? To cast away the burden of guilt and the weight of regret?

All of that and more is offered to us in the "living water" Jesus offers us.

"Living Water." Sort of sounds like a corporate brand, right? "Living Water" reaches a need far deeper than everyday thirst. "Living Water" touches the part of us that wakes up in the night worried or lonely or consumed with remorse. "Living Water" can wash away the parts of us that feel unclean and threaten to keep us isolated forever.

Take a sip of this water