Does it feel weird to think that God sees you – all. the. time? There’s nothing you say or do that escapes Him.
Well . . . when I put it that way, it does feel a little weird, right?
But honestly, He knows all about you – your good and your bad. And trust me, we all have some bad. But guess what? He still loves you, no matter who you are and no matter what you’ve done.
Do you know who is a perfect example of someone who had a sinful past . . . but God reached out for her and used her to impact her whole village? Read on.
A Story You Know So Well
If you’ve attended church all your life, you’re probably very familiar with the story of the woman at the well. In fact, when you get to that part of scripture, you may even skip over the whole story.
The story in a nutshell: Jesus stops at well. Woman comes to draw water. Jesus tells her about living water and that He knows about her sin. She runs back to the town to tell everyone about this man who knew all about her. People get saved. The end. Right?
Oh, but there’s so much more! So let’s pretend you’ve never heard the story before . . . ’cause that’s the story I would like to tell you right now.
First, the Back-Story
If you’re familiar with biblical history, you know that the Samaritans and the Jews did not get along. That’s putting it mildly, I suppose. They actually despised each other. The Jews looked down on the Samaritans as half-breeds – they were the result of incest between Lot and one of his daughters way, way back in history (see Genesis 19:30-38) for the full story. The Samaritans believed in the God of Abraham but they had also embraced other gods. Because of these two things, the Jews considered the Samaritans unclean.
Jews usually bypassed the country of Samaria – completely – even though it meant going many miles out of their way. And remember, they traveled by foot for the most part. Feelings were strong, wouldn’t you say?
This history sets us up for the story. Are you ready?
The Setting
Jesus and His disciples had been walking for some time on the hot dusty road. They were on their way from Judea to Galilee and Jesus chose to go through Samaria instead of around it. If you remember, this was unusual for Jews. The disciples asked Him about the route change, but Jesus only replied He needed to go there.
It was midday and they were hungry so Jesus sent the disciples to town to get lunch. He sat down by a well in the summer heat to wait until the men returned. He was thirsty but had nothing with which to draw water from the well.
Here She Comes, MS Samaria
In the distance, He could see a woman walking toward the well. Strange that she should would be heading to the well at midday – alone. Women usually came in small groups during the cool of the day to draw water since it was such an arduous task. The water jug was heavy when full and it was a long walk back to town, so the women took the opportunity to share companionship and a little gossip.
She walked alone through dust that coated her feet and sandals. All the other women from her village had already been to the well, early in the cool of the morning, but she was not welcome to accompany them . . . because of her past. She was the “talk of the town”, the subject of much of the gossip the other women shared on their trips to the community well.
Honestly, she couldn’t fault them for hating her. She didn’t really like who she had become, either. She felt trapped – longing to feel safe and cared for, significant in someone’s eyes – but she seemed to always make the wrong choices. A series of relationships with men had taken a toll on her – breaking her heart each time another relationship failed. Tears came to her eyes as she thought about the man she was living with now . . . another mistake. But what could she do?
At the Well
She raised her head as she approached the well. A man was sitting on the wall, watching her approach. “Oh no, I really don’t want to talk to anyone right now. Even worse, he’s a Jew. Maybe he will ignore me like they usually do. I don’t want any trouble today.”
She tried to ignore Him and lowered her jar into the well. But being left alone was not in the cards for her. A life-changing encounter was just minutes away.
“Will you give me a drink?” He spoke softly and looked at her with kind eyes. He could see she was agitated and ill-at-ease with Him speaking to her.
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” She figured He was probably pranking her: a Jew would never drink from a vessel touched by a Samaritan woman who was considered sinful and unclean.
Living Water
But Jesus was patient with her. “If you knew the gift of God, who I am and what I have to offer, you would ask Me for living water.”
“What in the world is living water?” she thought. “Can this water do more than wash my feet and quench my thirst? Could it wash away the hurt in my heart?”
But Jesus told her “everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water I give them will never thirst again. It will be a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Something about Him and the words He was saying gave her hope. She grasped that He was talking about so much more than the water from the well.
“Oh, please, give me the water. Give me what my soul is aching for!”
The Truth is Out
Then Jesus looked into her eyes and into her wounded spirit and said, “Go bring your husband back here to the well.” She was crushed as shame enveloped her.
“I don’t have a husband,” she said quietly, not daring to meet His eyes.
“That’s right. You have had five husbands and you’re not married to the man you’re with now.”
She looked up – into His eyes – expecting to see His disdain. But instead He looked at her and saw her. He knew her, about her sin, but didn’t look away. His revelation about her past wasn’t to make her feel guilty, but instead to open her heart to the truth – God’s truth – the truth that she needed redemption.
The Messiah
The woman knew a Messiah was promised. Through this conversation with Jesus, He showed her He was the Messiah. “I – the one who is speaking to you – am the Messiah!”
All her life she had been searching for something, someone to give her life meaning. She longed for value and purpose. She hungered for truth and meaning. Her need for companionship and safety had driven her into the arms of men who couldn’t or wouldn’t give her what she longed for – filling the ache in her soul.
The Messiah was talking to her. He was promising her the answer to her longings – this living water.
Her world changed forever that day in one life-changing encounter. She could hardly wait to tell the people of her village.
A Missionary With A Message
Okay, I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m going to call the Samaritan woman the first missionary. The definition of missionary is, “a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity.” That describes her exactly, doesn’t it? She left her water jar at the well and ran . . . did you get that? . . . she RAN back to her village to tell everyone about this man who told her about her past.
Many people from the village came to the well to meet Jesus because of the testimony of this woman.
We will never really know her name, because it’s not included in the story, but this woman’s life was completely changed that day. When the day started, she had no friends and no hope. None of her life choices had worked out the way she hoped. The women of the village hated her and looked down on her. She knew her life was full of sin.
In one day, one encounter, everything she knew changed. She went from being the outcast of the village to almost a celebrity. Do you think the women of the town changed their minds about her? The Bible doesn’t give us much information about her after her encounter with Jesus but here’s what I think happened. She moved out of the house where she had been living and changed her life completely. She told everyone she met about Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. The women of the village saw the change in her life and some of them reached out to her in friendship. Most importantly, though, she had found hope in Christ. The water He gave her truly was living water. She was free at last.
He Sees You
I love that we don’t know this woman’s name. As we read her story, it’s easier to fill in our name where hers would be. I mean, haven’t you been at the point in your own life where you didn’t know why your life had turned out like it had. It wasn’t what you’d planned. How did you ever get to this place? I know I have.
We all have a place in our hearts that only God can fill. Before I met Jesus, I tried to fill that spot with other things – work, family, prestige. Maybe you’ve tried to fill that spot with other “stuff” too, like relationships or drugs. Just going to put this out there . . . nothing else works. Nothing else will ever fit that place in our heart where God belongs.
Jesus looked at the woman at the well. He saw her need, her heart. He sees us too, and knows what we need. And no matter your age or what you’ve done, it’s never too late for God. He’s always ready to meet you right where you are.
Only God can meet our deepest need to – be valued and loved. He looks beyond our sins and failures to the person he created us to be. He can use our story – whatever it is – to bring salvation, encouragement and freedom to others.
God calls us to walk in freedom, not bound by the guilt and shame we have felt in the past.
He sees you and He loves you.
Next Steps
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