If You But Knew

When Jesus replied to the Samaritan woman, he said “if you but knew.”  If we but knew the preciousness of the moment.  If we but knew how much longer we’ll live.  If we but knew when the Lord is coming again.  Some things we don’t know, but there are things that we do know…or should.

John 4: ⁹Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. ¹⁰Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Note the question the woman asked Jesus.  She and Jesus had nothing in common; they were complete opposites.  How is it that the Lord wants to have dealings with us?  She knew Jesus was a Jew by his dress and dialect.  He was going through Samaria in the middle of the day.  The disciples went to town to buy food.  Jesus sat at the well alone, hot and weary.  A woman, direct opposite of him, came to the well.  He was virgin born and had never sinned.  He was God in the flesh, the incarnation of purity.  This woman had a history; we all do.  Her past is one that most would condemn.  Many times, however, we’re no better.  Regardless of the depths of our sins, regardless of our conduct, regardless of one sin or one hundred, we come short of pleasing God.  This woman had been married five times, and she currently lived with a man outside of marriage.  Just another Jew would have had nothing to do with her, but Jesus wasn’t just another Jew.  He knew all about her and her sins.  He knows things about us that others don’t.  He asked this “unworthy woman” for a drink.  He wasn’t afraid of her.  She needed him.  At the most impossible times of our lives, Jesus is there.  He is asking something of us.

He asked this woman for a drink.  Are you thinking to yourself “what can I give?  What do I have that he wants? I’m just a failure.”  Because of her thirst she came to the well.  She knew she had a failed life.  It was not in her nature to be able to get her life right.  It’s not in ours either.  On our own we will fail.  There is success in Jesus.  Other things and people let us down, but Jesus knew her need.  He knew what she had—a bucket.  Proverbs says we are to give him our heart.  No matter how much of a failure we feel we are, we have something to give to the Lord—our heart.

The Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along, but they had a common forefather in Jacob.  Jesus once had a body like ours.  He went through life as we are going.  He had a mother like we have.  He lived like we do except he never sinned.  He was human but divine.  Where we allowed the devil to lead us, Jesus turned away.  Where we obeyed our human nature, Jesus said no.  He did this just so there could be someone at the wells of our life who could help us.  We would never have known Jesus if he had not spoken first to us.  He spoke first to this woman. In response to her question he said “if you but knew the gift of God.”  Being a Christian is more than being a better person and turning over a new leaf.  It’s the gift of God’s only Son.  None of us deserve it, yet he gave us this gift because he loves us.  His gift gives us the gift of eternal life.  Our old life is wiped away; we have a new life with an eternity in heaven.  It’s called salvation.  The determining factor is this.  We’re not the who of salvation.  Jesus is.  His water cleanses from sin.  He is the one who gives the gift, the one who can provide.  He’s the promised one.

If we but knew how close he is to us.  Do you hear the request he is asking of you?  What is keeping you from him?  It’s all in knowing how precious this moment is.  It’s about knowing how unfixable you are outside of God.  It’s about the profound gift we’ve been given.

Later in this chapter we find this woman had gone back into town.  She told the people to come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?  She was changed.  We can’t do much with what we have except give it to God.  Bring your water bucket—your heart—and find the person that will quench the thirst of your soul.  If you know the gift, you’ll know the giver.  If you but knew—well, you can!