In Cambodia, water is everywhere; it rains all the time, so roads are flooded, there are rivers and lakes, houses have running water... The problem with needing water in Cambodia is getting usable water. You can't just drink any water in Cambodia, you have to drink bottled water. But you can't just drink any bottled water in Cambodia, it has to be specially sealed with plastic. There is a big problem with people resealing water and selling dirty water as clean water.
So, clean water is a valuable thing there. Real water.
(This is not my photo, I found it on Google. But this is the brand we drank the whole time.)
You can drink other things there. We had smoothies like crazy while we were there. The problem with smoothies: They cool you down and wet your throat, but two minutes after you drink it you are thirsty again. We needed real water, real hydration, so that we could survive.
So, one day, say around noon when the sun is highest, Jesus had been traveling and he was pretty worn out. He decided to take a break by a well; it was pretty shady and there was some water to drink. A Samaritan woman comes to get some water.
Well, Jesus broke some cultural norms (Jews talking to Samaritans and men talking to women) and asked her for a drink of water from the well. Her first reaction was shock, "Why is a Jew asking a Samaritan woman for a drink?" I think He saw that coming.
"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." She had a problem with his logic. "You have no way to get to the water; the well is too deep! And what is this living water?"
Aaaaand Jesus, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
She said, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."
Paraphrased from John 4:1-15. Read the rest of that story, it's pretty amazing!
Water. We need it for life. We need the right kind or we will never be satisfied.
Now, let's go to life. Everyone has a hole without God. He is the living water. He is the giver of eternal life. He is what completes us. We can never be whole without Him. But, that doesn't mean we don't try. So often, I think that we drink 'smoothies' to try and satisfy our thirst before we turn to 'water.'
Things we try and fill up with: Money. Pride. Things. Idolatry. People or popularity. Sex. Drugs. Clothes. Body image. The list could go on forever. Let's pick one...
How about clothes? (Maybe you don't like clothes; just go with it!) So there is this t shirt that I have to have. I know that I will be popular and fit in at school if I can just wear this t shirt! So, I buy the t shirt. Tomorrow a new style gets popular, or maybe mustard stains it right in the middle. Either way, now I need a new t shirt to meet my need. My worth is in the t shirt.
Now let's talk about Jesus and why He is better than a t shirt. Well, besides the obvious (He died on a cross for you), he promises to satisfy us. So, while we can never be satisfied with just one t shirt, or our imperfect boyfriend, or the way we look in the mirror everyday, we can be satisfied and made complete in Jesus.
Interjection: Before I really get going here, I need to say something. I really don't hate Americans. I love Americans! I love America! I know that there are Christians here that are truly seeking after and following and and I am so encouraged to know a couple of them. I am writing all of this to show people how the other side of the world does the Church and following Jesus and also to encourage others to really seek after Him and follow Him, because that is one of the biggest impacts that this trip has had on me.
Back to my point: Someone told me when I had just gotten home, maybe America isn't so much distracted by their stuff so much as they don't know what they are missing out on.
This woman didn't know about how amazing this living water that Jesus offered her is, until He told her! She was going about her business refilling water countless times to quench her thirst. She did not the better way to do it -- the best way!
Her response when Jesus told her, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." She knew when she heard that this is what she needed.
So now I am telling you this. Jesus has come to give you LIFE, but not only life, life in the FULLEST! (See John 10:10)
How will you respond to that?
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