I wonder if she spotted him from a distance, a man sitting at the well alone—her well, the one she visited daily. I wonder if, as she drew closer, she could make out Jesus’ face and recognize his nationality. A man—a Jewish man—sitting at her well?
She approached, probably confused. Maybe even a bit afraid. Then, Jesus spoke to her. A woman. A Samaritan. A sinner.
Over the course of their brief and profound conversation, he offered her the gift of a lifetime: living water, eternal life.
“Sir,” she said, “give me this water, so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water” (John 4:15).
She took his offer of living water literally. She didn’t get it—not yet.
I love this part so much because it paints such a real and beautiful picture of grace. You don’t have to fully “get it” to receive it.
This story says the gift of Christ is for anyone who wants to receive it—no matter how little you know, how little you have been taught, or how wayward you have lived. Grace reminds us how level the playing field is.
The Samaritan woman wanted what Jesus offered. She knew this if she knew nothing else.
“Give me this water,” she said. And that’s all she had to say.
That’s all we have to say, too. From the woman frantically checking all her Bible-study boxes to the woman buried under the weight of past sin and shame, this promise is for all of us. Because we’re all thirsty. We’re all weary. We are all desperate for the Jesus who stands at the well offering the exact and only thing we need.
“Give me this water,” we say, breathless and tired. And he does.
Andrea Lucado is a devotional contributor to the She Reads Truth Bible. Taken from the She Reads Truth Bible (www.SheReadsTruthBible.com), general editors Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams. Scripture quotations within the devotional text are from the Christian Standard Bible translation. Published by Holman Bibles, used by permission.
