THE LORD JESUS sat in weariness at Jacob's well. In love He had come to save His people from their sins but they would not receive Him. His tender heart was weary and grieved as He sat.
A despised Samaritan woman came with her waterpot to the well. She was a poor wretched woman living in open sin, not realizing that the eye of Him who knows all that she ever did was upon her.
At noontime she arrived at the well, and was astonished that a Jew should ask her to give Him a drink. Jesus said to her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.
Notice that He did not say, "If you were not so great a sinner," nor, "If you will reform and become a holy woman, then I will give you living water." No, He let her know that He knew all that she had ever done. But there was such a depth of pity, grace and compassion in His face—such tender love to the sinner in those words—that it won her heart; it converted her soul.
Christ—the Son of God, the Savior of sinners—made Himself known to her, and she, leaving her waterpot, went to the city so full of Christ that, forgetting her own shame, she said, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Can you meet the eye of Him who knows every thought of your heart from childhood—all you have ever done—and can you say that you are not a sinner? Why was this sinful woman not repelled by, but attracted to Jesus? If thou knewest the gift of God! Of whatever nation you are and no matter what sins you have committed, the first thing you need to know and to receive, is this gift of God.
What is the gift of God? The gift of God is eternal life. God sent His Son to meet that poor Samaritan sinner and give her that gift. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
It is a gift, a GIFT! You cannot buy it; you cannot earn it. He that knows all that you ever did, all that you are, sets before you Jesus the crucified and risen One—Jesus the glorified. Do you know Him—have you received Him?
Do you say, "But my sins are heavy; they press me down; what must I do?" If you have committed every sin that has been in this dark world, yet God's gift, redemption through His blood, abounds above it all. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Receive the gift of God. He freely offers it. Receive it, and, like this woman of Samaria, tell the good news to others.