The fourth chapter of John tells us the story of Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. Jesus offered her what He described as living water; that which one could drink and never again thirst. It is apparent to the student already acquainted with such scriptural terminology that the Lord was referring to a spiritually figurative water that could quench the eternal needs of the soul. However, this Samaritan woman never really seemed to comprehend that concept, for as that portion of their conversation closed, she is under the impression that if she drinks of the living water, she would no longer have to come to a well to draw. Actually, her understanding and subsequent appreciation for spiritual things is typical of most of the human race. The less we know about anything, the less appreciation we could possibly have for it. Therefore, because humanity seems generally disinterested in a deeper exploration of spiritual truth as scripture reveals it, a deeper understanding and appreciation for those truths and their application is not likely to follow. This was the Samaritan woman’s first exposure to these eternal truths, so far as we know. Therefore, she couldn’t really be expected to catch on to it all right away. However, if she ever was to grasp the concept of the living water, she was going to have to look higher than Jacob’s well. At this point, all she seemed to understand about water was that she had to draw it from that well, and she needed it to survive. Since that was all she knew about water, that’s also the extent of her knowledge at that time of spiritual things. Similarly, mankind’s thought patterns seem to rarely rise above the terrestrial level, and his foresight extends rarely beyond his nose. For these reasons, he lives his life in view of only time, and not eternity, and sets his goals and interests along temporal, rather than eternal, lines. Yet, God has made such extra ordinary efforts to raise our thought patterns and life goals above the material world, as Jesus tried to lift the eyes and understanding of the Samaritan women above the water of Jacob’s well, and set them upon the Water of Life. But, just as man never learned to fly by looking down, he will also never reach a worthy eternal goal unless he learns to look up.
Written and Recorded By: David Hayes Prophater