Sitting in front of me on my desk in my home office is a small form of a woman carrying a water jar on her head. It was meticulously carved out of olive wood by a man in Bethlehem. When visiting the Holy Land in 2018 I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit a small shop staffed by people with disabilities who spend their days creating beautiful sculptures out of their native olive trees. The love and care given to these figures can be seen etched in the details of their work. When my eyes fell on this woman sitting on the shelf among other carvings, I knew it was she who would be accompanying me on my journey home. When I looked at her, she was symbolic of the famous woman at the well in John 4 who first met Jesus and experienced her redemption. Plagued by those who had negatively defined her, this woman was living out what others had pronounced over her life. Believing to hold less value she treated herself the same. She couldn’t see through the consequences of her decisions to anything that could possibly be good or right. She was caught in the trappings of her past. She carried it with her burdened by its weight similar to the heavy jar of water on her head. Viewing her life through the lens of rejection, she traveled hurt and alone in the hottest part of the day to draw the lifegiving substance. Little did she know that this day would be different. This day, she would meet her Redeemer. This day, she would experience freedom.
All of us carry a heavy jar of past decisions and negative consequences. None of us are immune to scars and cracks in our character. Often out of frustration we make emotional decisions to satisfy fleshly desires and vehemently fight the urgings and promptings of the Spirit. Still ignoring that small Voice, we search for meaning, clarification, or purpose from a world that is tossed about like a small vessel on an angry sea. A world that holds no inherent truth. A world that offers no real stability. We crave acceptance and acknowledgement from others to substantiate or gain some semblance of self-worth. In all of our work of searching and agonizing we can easily miss the simple, yet profoundly impactful freedom that Jesus offers.
We are not told the woman’s name, but she is all of us. Surprised when spoken to by a man, taken aback since He is Jewish. Her preconceived notions of what He too must think of her possibly cloud her mind stirring up feelings of trepidation and shame. Perhaps even leading to a desire to be invisible and unseen. However, Jesus’ acknowledgement and words force her to face and admit her reality. She looks within and confirms her story. Jesus is not put off. He neither shies away from her raw humanity or hurls much anticipated insults. His compassion senses her deep longing for significance and a sense of value. He invites her to Himself as the well from which to draw her worth.
Leaving that place the woman ran to tell others of this day and this Man who had forever changed her story by changing the lens through which she looked to view herself.
