Filled Up

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. He was alone at the time as his disciples had gone into the village to buy food. The woman was surprised that a Jew would ask a "despised Samaritan" for anything - usually they wouldn't even speak to them! - and she remarked about this to Jesus.

He replied, "If you only knew what a wonderful gift God has for you, and who I am, you would ask me for some living water!"

"But you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well! Where would you get this living water? And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob? How can you offer better water than this which he and his sons and cattle enjoyed?"

Jesus replied that people soon became thirsty again after drinking this water. "But the water I give them," he said, "becomes a perpetual spring within them, watering them forever with eternal life." John 4: 7-14 (TLB)

Rincy Mathew lives in Chhattisgarh, India. Before Rincy knew God, she thought she could fill the void within her through her achievements. She was sure that getting good grades in school, having wonderful friends, traveling, having a boyfriend, or getting a job would finally solve everything. It was painful as each of these hopes failed to fill the emptiness she felt.

Eventually she realized that it was irrational and cruel to expect humans to fulfill something that only God can. Accepting our limitations is liberating and allows God's love to fill those spaces. Where our capabilities end, God's love stretches out to carry us.

Thankfully, God's love has filled the void that Rincy felt. Now her joy and fulfillment are with her in the present rather than in the future, and she doesn't depend solely on her achievements, circumstances, or loved ones. Rincy can no longer imagine her life without God in it. And as she has grown in her faith, she has come to recognize God's presence throughout her life. God has always been faithful, even when she was not. Christ offers the water that will quench out thirst. And when we go to God with humble hearts, God will welcome us.

Prayer: Faithful God, remind us that your love can fill the empty spaces in our lives, in Jesus' name. Amen.