“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.” (John 4:10)
Today’s passage comes from the divine appointment Jesus had at Jacob’s well with a Samaritan woman. This woman had absolutely no idea who Jesus was. The furthest thing from her mind was that Jesus was the promised “gift of God.” Yet there Jesus was, in a place no respectable Jewish man would never be. This was Samaria, the land of the despised, mixed-race Samaritans, and Jesus was speaking to a woman, no less! This simply was not done in that patriarchal culture.
This woman was an outcast. She had come to draw water at noon, the hottest time of the day, when no one else would be at the well. Jesus identified her as having had five husbands and currently living with a sixth man who was not her husband. On hearing this, the woman believed that Jesus was a prophet; by the end of the conversation, she understood that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. We know this because she ran back into town, to the very people she had been trying to avoid, exclaiming, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29).
The Samaritan woman was completely transformed by the love of Jesus. Her encounter with Jesus gives us a powerful example of one of the deepest Gospel truths: We are fully known and completely loved. Think about it! Jesus knows everything you ever did and He is still for you, with you, and in you. This can be hard for us to comprehend, because love so often comes with conditions in this life. But that’s not the case with Jesus! His love is unwavering even when we are wavering. That is the beauty and the blessing of understanding Jesus as the gift of God.
Are you experiencing the love of God in Christ Jesus today? Do you believe Jesus loves you with no strings attached? Remember, Jesus is the gift of God, and a gift is something that is freely given. By definition, a gift is something you do not earn or pay for. If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ, you have been rescued from your rebellion — not because of anything you have ever done or ever will do, but simply because Jesus loves you.
Now that’s the gift that keeps on giving!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 