April 13 – Are You Greater Than ...?

April 13 – Are You Greater Than ...?

“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”  He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” she replied.  Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. (John 4:11-19)

Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well?

Isn’t this the question we continually ask of Jesus?  Are you greater than this or that problem? Are you greater than our own weakness and our strong will?  Are you greater than our fears? Are you greater than our anger? Are you greater than the pain we lived with when we were children or kids, high schoolers or in college?  Are you greater than the loss we feel at the death of those we love?

Are you greater, Jesus … than all of these things that press in on us day after day?

Jesus doesn’t necessarily answer the Samaritan woman.

What He tells her is that He offers living water than will transform her.  This water will become a spring of water that wells up inside and will lead to eternal life.

I am absolutely fascinated by the power of water.  It cleanses, dilutes, quenches thirst, erodes mountains to nothing, nourishes life, is the home for much more life.  Water is an incredible gift from God.

Living water has the power to do all of that and more.  It is transformative.  The living water that Jesus offers will transform our fears, give us strength, offer hope, relieve stress, heal memories, comfort loss … Jesus has that power. 

Yes, He is greater than Jacob and greater than anything we can present to Him.  But, it isn’t just about Who He is … it is what He offers to us.  All we have to do is say ‘yes.’