I have been sitting this week in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:4-25.) As I have imagined the scene that played out in this story, I have wondered about the initial exchange between Jesus and the woman. Jesus was tired, thirsty, and the woman had a bucket for which she used to draw some water out of the well. To us it would make sense that he might ask her for a drink. In that time however, the Jews and the Samaritans did not typically associate with each other and this request from a man to a woman might even be understood as "flirting." Her reply, "How can you ask me for a drink," seems to portray suspicion, maybe even a defensive feel, surely questioning why this man would choose to associate with her. She was a Samaritan and a woman, one that needed to go to the well in the mid-day heat to draw her water indicating that she was outcast by the other women that would generally go together in the morning. Jesus simply responded saying, "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." The tables are suddenly turned and the question becomes not about why Jesus would associate with the woman but why wouldn't the woman associate with Jesus.
As I have sat with this story, it brings my own to mind. Several years ago, I was hesitantly, with great caution seeking God. One evening at a Maundy Thursday service, a pastor invited us to open our hands to receive the living Christ. I obediently opened my hands but my head remained down, my eyes squeezed shut and every muscle in my body tight as a knot. Despite all of that, I was still gifted by suddenly experiencing the presence of Jesus, as I felt Him stand directly in front of me. In that moment, I became very aware of my inability to lift my eyes to receive Him due to my very long list of reason why he shouldn't "associate" with me. Due to the process that God has been diligent to take me through over these last years however, today I have a very different experience. In the midst of and even in spite of all those "reasons", I now know that He chooses to and even longs to enter into a place of deep relationship and communion with me. I do know the gift of God and who it is who speaks to me and there is no longer anything that can keep me from seeking the living water that only He can offer. As the song goes, "No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand."
Do you long for deep communion with our Lord Jesus Christ? What reasons have you listed for why Jesus shouldn't want to associate with you? Might you offer those to Him in prayer as you share with Him your desire to know Him more deeply?
