Most Essential

John 4:10 - Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

We are told that water is the most essential ingredient of life. Although we can live forty or more days without food, most people cannot live more than three days without water, especially if exposed to heat or sunlight.

Jesus headed home from Jerusalem to Galilee by passing through the region of Samaria, filled with people the Jews considered half-breed outcasts. Jesus’ disciples left him at a well while they got food. There Jesus met the outcast of outcasts. She did the most social of women’s activities – getting water – alone and in the heat of the day because she had the most scandalous reputation in town.

Yet, she still needed water. She needed water to survive.

When she got to the well that day, Jesus asked for a drink to start a conversation. Ultimately, though, he wanted to show her a way to get an even more essential ingredient that the physical water she came to draw. He offered her living water.

In verse 14 Jesus said this living water that only he could give leads to eternal life. The woman believed him. She left the jug she brought for physical water and ran back to town to tell everyone that she had found the Messiah – the one with living water. She risked everything because she found something even more important. The people believed her, in spite of her previous life. They came to Jesus. They found living water for themselves. They were never the same.

What are you pursuing today? I am sure it is important. We need physical water. We need our incomes. We need to fulfill our daily responsibilities, but please make sure you do not miss the most essential of all ingredients. Jesus offers the living water that can spring within you to eternal life. Believe in him. Receive his gift. You will be forever grateful.