Skimming The Surface When Deep Waters Beckon

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  (John 4:11 ESV)

It’s easy to do. Understandable even. After all, our five senses are primed for the obvious, and our modern inclination for fast-paced skim-reading has diminished our capacity to slow down and discern the sense of things.

Jesus had just hinted that there was more to him than the woman realised, that he was offering water she’d never tasted before. Deep waters beckoned. But her eyes had not yet been transformed. She was still skimming the surface. No bucket. Deep wells. No water (living or not). She could not have realised that her next question was so eternally important. “Are you greater?”

We are so prone to this, aren’t we? Skimming the surface when deep waters beckon, a quick glance when all the wonders of eternity are on offer, stooping to cisterns when a gushing fountain stands before us. “Yes, he is greater.”

Lord, give us eyes to see who truly stands before us, the ability to see beyond the surface to perceive the depths of grace found in Christ. May we comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all your fullness.