Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 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 doYou 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." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." John 4:1-15 NKJV
Water is a very different kind of substance. It can be powerful enough to carve the Grand Canyon. Or it be very comforting as a warm bath on a cold day. Water can go from solid, to a liquid, and then to a gas with only a small change in temperature. Water can be destructive enough to destroy an entire city or powerful enough to extinguish a raging fire. Scientist are very excited about finding traces of water on some distant planet because they know if they find water, there is a possibility they will find some form of life there also. Workers can work harder and runners can run farther and faster just by ingesting a little bit of water. And a farmer’s job is impossible if water is in short supply. More than two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by water and more than two-thirds of the human body is composed of water.
As amazing and important is water, this is not to what Jesus referred. He spoke of something more powerful, more essential to life, and more plentiful than mere water could ever be. He called it “living water”. One sip quenches your thirst forever and it multiplies itself into a fountain that flows to others around you. Sadly to say, most of the people in your workplace, the majority of the people you pass on the freeway, and even many of the people sitting in your worship services are dying of “living dehydration”. Pass the cup and give drink to those around you and while you’re at it, take a sip yourself. How thirsty are you?