“IF YOU KNEW THE GIFT OF GOD…”
— John 4:10
There was a woman in the first century who was the picture of thirsty. She had gone through five husbands and had a sixth lover she didn’t bother to marry.
When Jesus spoke to her at the well, he had a lavish gift in mind. He likened it to a spring and said it would become a source of abundance and overflow in her life. It would quiet her quest to be filled. This living water would quench her deep thirst. Jesus called it the gift of God. He was talking about the Holy Spirit. (John 7:39)
Jesus knew she didn’t understand what he was making available to her and said:
If you knew the gift of God…
The Samaritan woman didn’t know the gift of God, but I wonder… do we? If we only knew what God has given us in the Holy Spirit, we would see ourselves as full rather than empty. Instead of being thirsty, we would overflow.
If you knew the gift of God…
Our lives would be marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. We would be people of praise, prayer, and proclamation.
If you knew the gift of God…
We would learn to follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings and respond to his conviction. We would hate to grieve the Spirit so we would pursue purity and holiness. We would repent of our sin, put to death the deeds of our flesh, and align our lives with the word of God.
If you knew the gift of God…
We would rely upon a power beyond ourselves and joyfully serve God’s purposes in our generation. We would believe again that anything is possible because the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us.
A little while after Jesus met the Samaritan woman, he took his offer public. Jesus stood up during a feast and cried out:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (John 7:37-38)
Do you thirst? Do you long to be satisfied and overflowing? There’s more of the Holy Spirit available than we have yet experienced.
Many of our difficulties result from us being filled with other things instead of filled with the Spirit of God. We settle for so little when Jesus offers us so much. We want full bank accounts and full bellies more than we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we only knew the gift of God.
Jesus knew it. The Father gave Jesus the Spirit without measure. (John 3:34) Though he was poor, Jesus was full. Though he didn’t have a home, Jesus was satisfied. Though he walked through trials and trouble, Jesus overflowed. And he said:
“If you knew the gift of God… you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water… whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.” (John 4:10, 13)
Fullness is available. God is still giving. And we’re invited to ask.
© John Rinehart 2025