Drink the Water

Angie Franklin

Most of us have heard the saying “If you have an itch, scratch it.” Instinctively, when we thirst, we quench it. Although water is the idea substance for thirst, we reach for something that may be more flavorful. Additionally, since we’ve come to realize that the thirst always returns, the goal becomes finding something that will give us longer satisfaction. Christ’s encounter with the woman at the well is often defined as an example of how grace is for all. Bible scholars accentuate the fact that the woman was a Samaritan and how during that time Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. However, this encounter which took place over two thousand years ago, where Jesus offered her a drink of living water, not only reveals much more than grace for all, but it also has a message that is just as profound and appropriate today. In today’s era where the liberation of women declares feminine self-expression a constitutional right and where movement’s such as “Me Too” resonate; women are still suffering with feelings of inadequacy and unfulfillment.

Even though the curtain in the temple was torn at Christ’s death on the cross, signifying that we are no longer shielded from a direct relationship with God, many women have continued to wear a veil. It’s a veil that hinders us from fellowship, meaningful relationships, and true worship. Many women have what Jodi Detrick, author of the Jesus Hearted Woman, calls a “plastic lipstick mentality.” I ‘ve seen how this mentality makes us to feel as though we must put on airs, leading us to believe that we should be a statuesque of perfection, and in doing so, we define our worth through our looks, size, titles, marital status, maternity, etc. When we fail to live up to what is considered the standard of feminine success, we often leap from one failed relationship to another, or we isolate ourselves.

The Samaritan woman not only was considered unacceptable by the Jews, but she also had a tainted past. When Jesus offered her the living water, knowing of her many failed marriages and how her present circumstance was not ideal, he wasn’t condoning her behavior. Neither was he condemning her. He wasn’t concerned with her rank in society, her outer beauty, her marital status, or anything other than her future. Christ’s offer of living water was a chance for her to let go of all the feelings of inadequacy that caused her to try to quench her thirst for fulfilment in all the wrong ways. He was offering to forever fill the empty well that she had been accustomed to, and to fill it with love, acceptance, forgiveness, and purpose.

As we live in a time where society is attempting to redefine our gender through LGBTQ rights, we need to embrace ourselves for those things that truly define who we are, from our genetic makeup to our emotional nature and drink the water, the living water! The water that tells us in Christ we have our being. Perhaps, you’ve already drank the water and no longer thirst, then it’s time to share that drink with another woman who can’t seem to quench her thirst. It’s part of the Great Commission.