"SHE LEFT HER WATERPOT!"

JOHN 4:7-29

Jesus was weary and thirsty. On his northward journey from Judea to Galilee, He chose to go through Samaria. The text says, "And He had to pass through Samaria." Actually He chose to. Normally Jews would take a route that would bypass Samaria. But Jesus had an appointment there with a woman who didn't even know it. The disciples went into the city to buy food. He stayed by the well of Jacob at Sychar, a city of Samaria. Then she came. She came alone probably because she had few real friends; she came to this out of the way spot possibly because she was shunned in the city. But Jesus was there with a desire to meet her. After their dialogue about well-water, her marital status and the proper place and manner of worship, she left her waterpot, went into the city and spoke to the men there. The Samaritan woman reminds me of another woman. She was a 40 year old teacher in Boston who decided to run the 26-mile Boston Marathon. Both she and the Samaritan woman were possessed with a goal and a determination to fulfill it. In preparation for the race, the runner trained to shed excessive pounds, put on wispy, unbinding clothing and lightweight running shoes. She wanted to go unfettered. Perhaps it is a minor point, but have you ever wondered why the woman at the well left her waterpot? She came there to fill it, why did she leave it? Maybe like the runner, she wanted no excessive baggage.

• MAYBE SHE LEFT IT BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO GO UNHINDERED:
• Water pots were heavy, especially when filled with water. They were also cumbersome and not the best running equipment. If you were carrying a water pot you'd be severely disadvantaged for mobility.
• We read in Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
• "Every encumbrance" is differentiated from "sin;" that has reference to some in-itself-non- sinful thing that impedes us.
• It might be a hobby or pursuit of some sort.
• It might be a relationship we've allowed to get in the way of our Christian walk.
• It might be some anxiety or apprehension about something.
• It might be a habit, obsession, or regular practice of our life.
• It might be some possession we value too greatly.
• Every sin would be disobedience, willfulness, selfishness, godlessness of every stripe and description. This is sin that entangles us like a black-berry vine that grabs us as we walk by.
• It is saying sinful words.
• It is doing sinful deeds.
• It is possessing sinful attitudes.
• It is indulging sinful thoughts.
• It is leaving undone the right things we know we ought to do.
• Can you imagine running a race (or going shopping in a mall, or doing your job) encumbered with 40 or 50 pounds of potatoes hanging onto your back? Add to that 100 pounds of chains which drape over your shoulders, wrap around your waist and entangle your ankles. You'd really be set for any sort of work or activity, now, wouldn't you? Yeah, right!
• Can you imagine living a triumphant Christian life all bogged down with needless fears, questionable associations, excessive, trivial activities and then, on top of that, to be ensnared in some pernicious sin? Think about it:
• On the one hand these are harmful impediments because they prevent our living fully for Christ. They slow us down, bog us down and eventually put us out of the race.
• On the other hand, they are needless burdens and entanglements because He is the burden bearer and the sin forgiver. We don't have to bear our burdens alone or to stay in our sins -- another has given us relief.

There were things the Marathon runner needed to put off to run unfettered. When she decided to run the race, for some reason people made fun of her and jeered her and harassed her. She had to forget that; she had to forget the blisters forming on her feet; she had to forget it when she was hit and injured by a bicycle. Maybe that was another reason the Samaritan woman left her waterpot. She may have been so caught up in the things Jesus said, and in her desire to tell others it just slipped her mind, she just didn't remember to take it.

• MAYBE SHE LEFT IT BECAUSE SHE JUST FORGOT IT:
• After all, she was amazed that this Jewish man would even speak to her, a Samaritan woman. She may have been so engrossed in her conversation with Jesus that she just forgot other things. He had convinced her that he was the awaited Messiah. He had astounded her by telling her specific things about herself.
• Jesus has an uncanny way of displacing other things when we pay attention to Him. Remember that old song, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
• In light of seeing Jesus, there are some things we, too, ought to forget.
• Like Joseph let us say, "For God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." Genesis 41:51.
• With Paul let us determine, "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13, 14.
• It is easy to get so wrapped up in things we forget something else.
• While we were in Denver visiting, my sister Bev came home from art class and asked Merle, her husband, if he'd already picked up their grandson Jack from school and taken him to work. His mouth flew open, he jumped out of his chair, and feeling extremely sheepish, said, "Oh, no! I completely forgot!" He got so wrapped up in our visit that the daily event slipped his mind.
• I, too, have had times when I got so caught up in what I was doing that memory failed. On several occasions when my children were small they'd accompany me on certain house calls. They'd be playing with the children of the household, I'd forget they were there and leave them ... or nearly so as the host would always remind me of the lapse.
• Whatever we may forget, let us NEVER, however, forget the things pertinent to Jesus Christ.

The runner had to forget the unkind remarks of others and the pain she suffered in running the race. She was exhausted and she was several miles from the finish. But she had to press on. She was determined to finish the race from start to finish. The Samaritan woman, too, was determined to complete what she set out to accomplish. That was to know more about the Christ she had met, and to tell others of him. She ran into the city, but she didn't intend to stay there. She intended to go full circuit; she determined to finish her race. So perhaps there is yet another reason she left her waterpot.

• MAYBE SHE LEFT IT BECAUSE SHE DETERMINED TO FINISH HER COURSE:
• She ran into the village with the express statement, "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" V29. But going to the village was only half her purpose; she wasn't going to stay there. She was committed to going back to the well where Jesus was.   She clearly intended to return and to bring others with her. That would finish her course.
• She wanted to come back for more teaching, for more fellowship, more friendship. Talking with Jesus once was not enough.
• May we have a homing pigeon faith and a boomerang heart; that is, one that comes back and keeps coming back:
• For more time simply to be alone with Jesus, just to be in His presence.
• For prayer time to lift our burdens to Him countless times in a day.
• For confession and reconciliation when we've lapsed into sin.
• For strength when we are weak, courage when we are afraid, wisdom when we are dumfounded, and rest when we are weary.
• Some good guidelines to insure our frequent coming back to Him would be:
• To make it the rule of you life to pray and read the Bible at least fifteen minutes each day.
• To make it the regular practice of your life to be in attendance at the learning and worship gatherings of the local church.
• To be a habitual frequenter of times of Christian fellowship in small, informal groups.
• To seek His face in unexpected circumstances, in the stresses and pressures of life, and to turn your mind Christward in times of temptation and trial.

The woman running the race came to the finish late at night; the other racers had finished or dropped out. Just before crossing the line she fell flat on her face too exhausted to finish. But she lifted her head and saw her friends there, cheering her on. They'd put up a crude tape on the finish line for her to break through. She struggled to her feet and limped across the finish. She ran light and unimpeded, she forgot her obstacles and pains, and she determined to finish the course. The woman at the well left her waterpot. Perhaps because she forgot it; perhaps because she had such an urgent mission she wanted to go unhindered, or perhaps because she knew she would be coming back to hear more. She wouldn't go into the city and stay there. She would come back to Jesus; she would go the whole distance and finish her course. As a result of her setting aside the vessel for physical water, Jesus gave to her spiritual, living water. He will do the same for every thirsting soul, for every parched spirit, for every dry and languid heart, IF ... IF you, like the woman have a deep and ardent desire for Him. Like the woman at the well, perhaps you are thirsting for things that do not satisfy. Like her, perhaps you have been moved to believe that He is the Promised One of God, the Messiah, the Christ. Perhaps as she did, you will forget the temporal things and seek Him and the living water He waits to impart. Perhaps ... but it all depends upon you. What will you do with Jesus today? What will you do with the living water He offers? You alone know the answer to that.

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