There is a story told about an anonymous woman. At least she is anonymous to us. We don't know her name, but everyone in her little town certainly did. She was the type that is whispered about behind her back. Always the subject of the latest gossip, she was well-known around town for all of the wrong reasons. "How many marriages had she gone through?" She was the type of woman that mothers would caution their daughters not to be like. She was trouble - at least that's what most people seemed to think. The other women avoided her. All the men in her life seemed to use her. She was a mess. Her life was a mess.

Until one day, out of the blue, she met a man. But this man wasn't like all the other men she had met. He was, for one, a traveling preacher who had wandered into her town. A preacher was about the last person whom this woman expected to talk to her. "He must be from out of town if he wants to talk to a person like me." And she wasn't really sure if she wanted to talk to a preacher anyway. She'd had enough judgment. But there she was in the middle of the day in the middle of the town drawing some water from the public well and this traveling preacher suddenly asks her for some water.

But another thing that set this man apart from the other men in her life was that despite the way the conversation began, she quickly realized that this man didn't want to take anything from her. He wanted to give something to her. Living water is what he called it. He wanted to give her something that would quench her thirst for the rest of her life. Who wouldn't want such a thing? This traveling preacher wasn't offering judgment. He was offering her something priceless - forgiveness and meaning and purpose. He was offering her a way to finally fix the mess that had become of her life. She was so excited that she ran off into town and gathered together all of her friends - the people who were just like her - so that they could also meet this amazing preacher, this Savior who offers living water for our souls.

This story is told in the Bible in John chapter 4. Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a public well - a woman who was an outcast and a sinner - and he offered her life, real life. And he offers that to you and to me as well - it does not matter who you are or what you have done! You and I are standing with that woman at the well. In John chapter 3, we read those memorable words that God loved the whole world so much that he sent his Son so that whoever believes in him won't die but will have eternal life. This promise is real and this promise is urgent.

There are many hardships in the world - financial problems, violence, divorce, sickness. This list could go on and on. It doesn't matter who you are we all long for peace and forgiveness. We all long for hope. We all long for something or someone to set things right and give us real satisfaction and meaning. If we really stop long enough to think about it we all have this thirst in our souls that longs for living water. But we spend most of our lives trying to quench this thirst with all sorts of stagnant and diseased water. People who are dying of thirst will pretty much drink anything, even if it's poison. And so we try to quench this thirst with all sorts of stuff like money, toys and cheap relationships which never gives us what we ultimately need.

Jesus wants to give you real life, hope and peace. He offers you forgiveness - for free - because he took all of our sin and garbage upon himself and paid our debt with God for us by offering himself on a cross (Ephesians 1:7, Romans 8:1, 1 John 1:9). And then he defeated death once and for all three days later by rising back to life! He now offers you forgiveness and victory. You will not find that anywhere else in the world. All he asks is that we trust in him, we repent (turn away) from our sinful ways and demonstrate our trust in baptism (Acts 2:38). If you are reading this right now and you are desperate for some living water, my prayer is that you would find it in him. Don't just blow this off. It's too important to just dismiss. If this is real then it is the most important message you will ever hear in your life. Pray about it (even if you feel stupid at first). Study it for yourself. Read the gospel of John. Ask honest questions of someone you trust. Find a church that can help you find your way, but don't pass up this opportunity to find that deeply satisfying living water.

God bless.