Living Water Series

Alan Fadling, in his book An Unhurried Life, tells a parable of a king who had two servants.

One of the servants, for fear of not pleasing his master, rose early each day to hurry along to do all the things that he believed the king wanted done. He didn't want to bother the king with questions about what that work was. Instead, he hurried from project to project from early morning until late at night.

The other servant was also eager to please his master and would rise early as well. But he took a few moments to go to the king, ask him about his wishes for the day and find out just what it was he desired to be done. Only after such a consultation did this servant step into the work of his day, work comprised of tasks and projects the king himself had expressed a desire for.

The busy servant may have gotten a lot done by the time the inquiring servant even started his work, but which of them actually accomplished what was important to the king?

Alan Falding goes on to say, “Genuine productivity is not about getting as much done for God as we can manage. It is doing the good work God actually has for us in a given day. Genuine productivity is learning that we are more than servants, that we are beloved sons and daughters invited into the good kingdom work of our heavenly Father” (Alan Fadling, An Unhurried Life, IVP, 2013, p. 51-52; www.PreachingToday.com).

Please, don’t confuse busyness with productivity. You see, a lot of people live busy lives without ever stopping to think, “What does God want me to do?” As a result, they hurry from one project to another. And they feel like slaves, wearing themselves out without accomplishing what God considers important.

On the other hand, some people, having discovered God’s will, do the good work He has given them to do. They know they are loved sons and daughters, because their heavenly Father has invited them to participate in His Kingdom work. As a result, they experience genuine productivity and live full lives without all the hassle and hurry.

The question is: What is God’s will for your life each day? What are the most important things He wants you to accomplish today? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to John 4, John 4, where Jesus shows us the Father’s will.

John 4:1-4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria (ESV).

Why did Jesus HAVE to pass through Samaria?

Most Jews skirted around Samaria to get to Galilee from Jerusalem, because they despised the half breed Samaritans. They had opposed the Jews’ return to the land after the Jewish exile in Babylon 500 years previously, so there was a lot of “bad blood” between them.

Even so, “Jesus HAD to pass through Samaria” Why? Because that’s what God wanted Him to do. Later on in the chapter, Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Doing God’s will nourished Jesus. It energized Him. That’s why He had to go through Samaria—It was God’s will.

John 4:5-6 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour (ESV)—or about noon, since their day started at 6 a.m.

It’s not the normal time for women to draw water, so it’s obvious the woman Jesus will meet there is avoiding people because she is ashamed about something in her life.

John 4:7-9 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans) (ESV).

Or more literally, Jews do not use dishes Samaritans have used. They certainly don’t drink from the same cup! In Jesus’ day, Jewish men considered Samaritan women to be constantly menstruating and thus unclean. Therefore, a Jew who drank from a Samaritan woman’s cup would become ceremonially unclean (Edwin Blum, Bible Knowledge Commentary).

Jesus’ request of the Samaritan woman was unthinkable, because Jews in that day refused to associate with Samaritans, men refused to associate with women in public, and good people refused to associate with immoral people like this woman, who is obviously ashamed about some sin in her life. No wonder the Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus asked her for a drink!