Do you wake up with purpose every day? Do you have plans and projects, duties and responsibilities which is always high on your list of reasons to get out of bed? Our day-to-day purpose is relatively easy to find; we mix a bit of what we need to do, with however much we can get away with of what we want to do, and are left with some things we wish we didn’t do, and perhaps a bit more to do tomorrow.
The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the beginning of John 4 shows how our purpose can come out of any (and every) situation. The woman has gone to the well to draw water, which must have been a mundane daily task, when she meets Jesus who asks her for a drink. After a brief conversation and a huge revelation, this woman becomes one of the first evangelists; as she immediately tells her whole village about Jesus! See how Jesus places divine purpose within the most ordinary of meetings?
One thing that strikes me, is that collecting water was not an ungodly purpose. Sometimes the things that give us purpose are not bad for us, but they aren’t the very best. Jesus says, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me and I would give you living water”. What do we pursue in our own lives that Jesus wants to refresh and renew with His living water?
When we are caught up in our to-do list, we can easily miss the God-given purpose that is in each and every day. When we can’t see who Jesus is or what He offers, we often get side-tracked and miss the opportunities He gives minute by minute. Our real purpose does not run dry, and it doesn’t wear us down. It never becomes routine and it isn’t a hidden or abstract dream, waiting to be woken within us. Jesus is our purpose; when we spend time letting Him fill us each day, His living water fills us and flows throughout our lives.
According to John’s gospel, this woman was the first person to whom Jesus revealed his identity as the Messiah. This is the key; when we spend time with Jesus and let Him reveal Himself to us, we will never be thirsty for purpose again.
