John 3:19-20 tells us: And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be exposed. Just like back in John's day, we live in a world that wants to hide it's sin from the Light. Sin likes darkness. When John wrote his book in the Bible, the world was filled with darkness and then Jesus, the true Light, came on the scene and showed people the way out of the darkness and onto the lighted path towards God.
In chapter 4 John tells us a story about a person who wanted to remain in the shadows. She was caught in the darkness of sin. John tells us that Jesus was going home to Galilee and was passing through Samaria. He stops at one of Jacob's wells to rest and sends the disciples into Sychar for food. He stayed behind alone.
It was about the 6th hour of the day, around noon. It was a very hot time of day and not many people were out. All of the housewives went to the well early in the morning while it was still cool. All but one that is. That one who was the talk of the town. She was a woman of loose morals and standards. She didn't fit in to nice society. She was probably surprised to see a stranger, a man at that sitting by the well, all alone.
Jesus asks her for a drink. And shocked she replies by telling him 'you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan. How can you ask me for a drink?' (v.9)
This was the only opening Jesus needed to talk to this woman about her soul. He answered her 'if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water'. (v.10) Jesus goes on to say 'everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' (v. 13-14)
Jesus tells her 'go call your husband and come back' (v.16) to which she responds that she has no husband (v.17). Then Jesus reveals that He knew that all along. He tells her 'you are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband'. (v.17-18)
Can you imagine how shocked she was to have her life laid bare before this stranger? How did He know about her? He couldn't have heard the gossip. He was new in town. So to deflect from her sin, she brings a question out of left field. In verse 20 of chapter 4 she says 'our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.' Jesus responded in verses 21-23 'Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither worship the Father in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him.'
We know the end of the story, the woman believes in Jesus the Messiah, and an entire town is changed. We all know people like this woman. People whose lives are a mess. They've been looking for love in all the wrong places. Trying to fill up the emptyness in their lives with everything but the One true thing that would actually fill them. For some they try to fill that hole with alcohol or drugs or like this woman, they try to have a person fill their every need (she had tried at least 5 men before her present one). None of that works.
Someone once said that we all have a God shaped hole in us that can only be filled by Him. And that's true. Just like Jesus said about the water of this world will always leave us thirsting for more but His living water will satisfy us to eternity. When we fill our God shaped hole with God we will never be thirsty again. We will be satisfied.
Jesus told us in John 4:35 'open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.' There are people out there who are struggling, whose lives are a mess, they are empty inside and they are trying to find fulfillment in all the wrong things. It's up to us to help them find the only Person who can satisfy all their needs. Can you think of someone who needs the Lord? Why not introduce them to Jesus, their Saviour today? They're waiting for someone to come along and give them the answer they've been searching for.
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