A Conversation That Revealed Everything
In the Gospel of John, chapter 4, there is a very interesting and telling account. On His way from Judea to Galilee, Jesus traveled through Samaria. At this time there was a strong divide between Jews and Samaritans; they had no dealings with each other. V. 9. But Jesus had come as Savior for all of mankind. And here He broke very decisively with customs, traditions, and age-old enmity, so that both the Samaritans and His own disciples were greatly astonished—most likely even shocked.
Jesus was weary after a long journey and sat down by a well outside the town of Sychar, while the disciples had gone into the town to buy food. Then a woman of Samaria came to draw water. To the woman’s great astonishment, since He was a Jew and she a Samaritan, Jesus said to her: “Give Me a drink.” V. 7. She answered: “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” In Jesus’ answer, and the conversation that arose from it, Jesus gives a clear message about the waters of life that the song by Elihu Pedersen speaks of. It is song number 375 in the songbook Ways of the Lord.
“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?’
Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’” V. 10-14.
A Life in Unbelief Is a Desert Existence
“O dear friend, gone astray, unbelieving, wand’ring blindly through deserts of sin—how your soul, parched with dryness, is grieving, thirsts for waters of life deep within. So bewildered and troubled, you suffer; how you wish that life’s journey were through. Hear the voice of the Lord; ‘tis a comforting word— waters of life are for you.”
How many people experience that their life is dry and full of bewilderment! God’s word gives a very clear diagnosis for such a desert existence: “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jer. 2:13.
Perhaps some of them had a trusting relationship with God as a child, a simple child-like faith. But then they were lured by all that the ruler of this world has to offer—riches and glamor, fleeting pleasures, popularity, etc. They want to have fun. And it ends with having to admit that all these things are broken cisterns that can hold no water, and that life is dry and meaningless.
Every person must give up something and sacrifice something, but for most, the result is that when their earthly life ends, their body is worn out and useless. It has not become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit; instead, other spirits have made use of it. We spend strength and energy, time and money, but what do we get in return, what are we left with? The pleasures of sin are short-lived, and they are quickly cut short by the curse that sin brings with it. Then life on earth becomes almost like a hell. Evil spirits wreak havoc on the soul and cannot offer a single promise we can rely on. The emptiness becomes endless, and the more we seek out the broken cisterns, the emptier we become.
Jesus Has the Fountain of Life within Him
“Waters of life are for you; in Christ is the fount ever new. In Him there’s uplifting from unbelief’s drifting; a new, living way comes to view. Waters of life are for you; in Him springs the fount ever new. He’ll give joy deep within; you need not die in sin. Waters of life are for you.”
Jesus promised the Samaritan woman water that would quench her thirst for all eternity. He promised the same to all who believe in Him. “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39.
The living water is the Holy Spirit. Even as a converted person, we can read God’s word merely as the letter, without Spirit and life, and it becomes a dry desert existence. That is what Jesus said to the Jews: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” John 5:39-40. Jesus came to give us life and abundance. Ch. 10:10. He creates in us a new and clean heart that is receptive to this living water. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, will lead us into all truth and set us free from the sin that binds us fast in chains and gives us a dry and despairing desert existence. John 8:31-36.
We Can Also Become a Fountain for Others
And not only are we refreshed ourselves; Jesus says that out of our heart shall flow rivers of living water, so that we too can refresh others and be a blessing in our surroundings. As He also said to the Samaritan woman, this water will become in us a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.
When we wander in the desert, we can go from oasis to oasis to quench our thirst anew. In the same way, as Christians, we can again and again need extra experiences, new “injections” of faith and hope, in order to be able to walk a few more steps. But how much more glorious it is when we never thirst again, but ourselves become a fountain for others! This is the life of abundance that Jesus invites His disciples to when they allow the Spirit of truth to lead them from truth to truth, which is also from freedom to freedom. This is truly a life in Christ, the life of the New Covenant, where through the Holy Spirit we have received a fountain of life within us that wells up in joy and blessing under all circumstances.
Of such ones the Scriptures say: “They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them.” Isa. 49:10.
Stop Deceiving Yourself
“In your seeking for joy and for pleasure, you found sorrow and torment instead. Through the burning hot sands of sin’s desert, so deceived and discouraged you tread. Christ will save you from grief and from anguish when by faith you begin life anew. So believe right away; heed the gospel today. Waters of life are for you.”
Even though Jesus’ offer of such a life of abundance is open to everyone, it is not without conditions. You must acknowledge your wretched condition, acknowledge your sin and that you have deceived yourself, and you must have a deep longing to allow the truth to set you free. The Samaritan woman got to experience that in her further conversation with Jesus:
“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You have well said, “I have no husband,” for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 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 will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’
“The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” John 4:15-26. “The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’” V. 28-29.
She was struck by the truth about herself—“He told me all things that I ever did”—and understood that here was salvation and redemption from her sinful life.
Acknowledge Your Sin and Your Wretchedness, and Then Jesus Will Give You of This Fountain of Life
When Jesus spoke to the Jews about being free indeed, they had no such acknowledgment, “They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’” John 8:33-36.
To hush up unpleasant things—things that are not good, for ourselves and others—is not to walk in the light. The peace we get does not last long, and there will be no fountain of life within us. Without acknowledgment there is no cleansing; there is no living water.
To partake of this fountain of life, the first step is an absolute acknowledgment of your total corruption and wretchedness—you are incapable and incorrigible. In yourself—in your flesh—there is nothing good, nothing usable; there is no power to accomplish anything good that is pleasing to God. For this reason, you must give up everything of your own, without any reservation whatsoever. Luke 14:26 and 33. And then the waters of life are for you—you partake of absolute victory and progress, growth and maturity, holiness and glory; yes, an inner transformation! And you become a blessing to those around you.
If we want to have life, we must therefore go to this fountain of life and drink of this living water, the waters of life, and allow the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to lead us into all truth. Then we will never thirst again.
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References
The song “O dear friend, gone astray, unbelieving” was written in 1938 by Elihu Pedersen (published in 1947). The melody was composed by Kittie L. Suffield.
