“Come and see a man who knows all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out.” John 4:29 MSG
This was part of my reading this morning. You know who says this…the loose woman who goes to draw water in the hottest time when no one else is around, so she can avoid the judgmental stares of fellow thirstys. Kind of like a morbidly obese man shopping at the 24 hour grocery store at midnight.
Instead, the woman at the well runs into Jesus who sees her, and knows her and loves her. And the story of her life is forever changed.
The woman looking for water, the morbidly obese man looking for groceries, you, me. We’re all thirsty.
As I write this, I’m sitting at “my” Starbucks with my morning mocha. A friend who is a successful businessman, sits not far away with a highly educated, talented man who has been out of work for 3 years. Once a week for all of those three years, my friend has shown up. He’s networked and advised a little, but mostly he’s just listened to a guy who’s thirsty to be known and loved.
A friend whose husband has cancer, calls and unloads information, frustration, prayers. Thirsty for companionship in her anguish.
A woman who’s in transition takes a walk with me and shares her thirst for a calling of significance.
A mentor of mine, my former Young Life leader wrote about me as a teenager.
I don’t remember saying this and it still makes me cringe to read it, but maybe it’s one of the truest things about us.
We are thirsty to be known and accepted.
The only one who can provide us the water of complete love and acceptance is Jesus, but as we listen and love others, we too, become thirst-quenchers in His image.
Beautiful, Laura.
Keld Jensen, contributor to Forbes, writes about negotiation behavioral economics and trust, and he says the three motivators are power, sex, and money.
Fortunately, as you so beautifully illustrate, Jesus was on the other side of that equation with the three satisfiers: purpose (as opposed to power), commitment (as opposed to sex), and all needs met (as opposed to money).
Jesus had neither power (dying on the cross at the hands of the religious and the Romans), nor sex (single celibate guy), nor money (he did not own anything), but he had purpose, commitment (to his followers and to his Father – Who raised him from the dead in the end), and all of his needs met.
In other words, Jesus lived the perfect life. God has offered to us the same.
Thanks for reminding us of where satisfaction is found, and illustrating this so vividly with a today example and a Bible event. Food for the soul or as you put it, thirst quenching.
Thanks for adding these insights Jodi!