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Living Water
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[March 23, 2011]
--"Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of
God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you
would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’"-
John 4: 10
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I find it ironic that the first teaching Jesus offers
the Samaritan woman at the well is that it is she
who should be asking him for something. Jesus
has just asked her for a drink of water, and she has
note the peculiarity of this request since he is a Jew
and she a Samaritan. And now, Jesus is telling her she
should be asking something of him. I find it ironic
because, if there is anything we modern American
Christians are good at, it is asking Jesus for
stuff. We ask for stuff all the time; money, health,
wealth, jobs, relationships, political and athletic
victories, etc... We have no problem asking Jesus for
things. If he returned, the line would form pretty
quickly to ask him for stuff. No, this is not our
problem.
Our problem is we ask for the wrong
things. What Jesus offers the Samaritan woman at the
well is not something any of us would know to seek. He
offers her the living water, which, once consumed, will
never need to be consumed again and will bring
salvation. This is a metaphor, of course, for the
presence of Christ in one's life. This is what we
should be requesting of Jesus! We would be wise to put
aside our laundry list of desires, as if Jesus were a
genie in a bottle, and focus on what he truly offers, an
elixir for our souls. Jesus can increase our faith,
help us to overcome struggle and sorrow, teach us how to
truly love, and save us from the dark abyss of sin.
This is what he offers, not money, not true love, not
the perfect job or even an Illini victory. I encourage
you, the next time you pray, to remember who it is you
are praying to, and what he believes you actually need.
Then see if maybe it has been there all along.
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Prayer: Holy God, please increase my faith and strengthen
my belief, that I may be a better servant of Christ. I want to grow
in my faith and I want to learn how to love others. I pray in
Jesus' name. Amen.
[Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church]
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