Look at the thirst of being human, through the lens of the familiar story of Jesus and the woman at the well. This woman had tried to quench the thirst for meaning, for significance, for hope which exists in all human beings. She had tried to quench it through relationship after relationship, but nothing satisfied. Like so many of us she tried to quench this thirst from the outside, whether it be through relationships, experiences, accumulation of possession, or even doing good.
Jesus was savvy enough to see this woman as more than someone he should have culturally avoided, and he avoided the temptation to write her off because of her bad choices in the past. He recognised that she had made these choices because her soul was thirsty, but she did not how to quench it. He then, introduces himself to her as the messiah, the saviour, the one who can address this need.
This woman is a smart woman, and she believes. There is so much to reflect upon in this story, but one thing above all strikes me. It is the importance of seeing people as Jesus sees them. To recognise that when we see a person pursuing relationship after relationship, when we know a person who is obsessed with their career, when we see the person who must tell you where they live and where they travelled on their last vacation; rather than saying tisk tisk and rather than assuming they are immoral, shallow, self centred or any other such thing, perhaps they are saying I am thirsty and and I don’t know how to quench this thirst in my soul. Maybe they are waiting for someone to introduce them to Jesus?
