“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14
Notice where Jesus begins this conversation: There are great thirsts in your soul. You are looking for something more.
Jesus speaks of “a spring of water” that will be a source of joy and satisfaction, and he gives this water: “water that I will give him…” This water can actually be “in” you, and this joy will never end: “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Notice that Jesus speaks to this woman’s thirsts before he confronts her sins. Our Lord approached different people in different ways, but it is significant that with this woman, who is far from the truth, he does not begin with her sins but with her thirsts.
No one turns from their sins unless they have hope of something better. So Jesus begins by laying out the better that lies ahead. The prodigal son said, “I will arise and go to my father… Treat me as one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18, 19).
If the prodigal son had known that when he returned, the father would run to him, put a robe on his back, a ring on his finger, and kill the fattened calf to celebrate his return, he would surely have come back sooner!
Giving up your sin becomes possible when you know what God has in store for you. When you know that forgiveness is there for you, you will be drawn to return to the Father.
Change always begins with hope, and there is marvelous hope here! Your life can be more than it has been! Joy and satisfaction can be yours, and Jesus is ready to give them to you.
Respond to the statement: “Change always begins with hope…”
