We are all familiar with over romantic portrayals of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The gospel of John tells us that Jesus was traveling from Judea through Samaria towards Galilee when he stopped at a well at a small town call Sychar. This was also the site of the famous 'Jacob's well'.Knowing about the dug wells in Cambodia, one might think that that this particular well was filled with filthy contaminated water, unsafe for drinking. But not so. This well apparently tapped into an aquifer fed by an underground spring, and during Jesus' time produced good clear drinking water.
It was at this well when Jesus commented (John 4:13-15) to the Samaritan woman:
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
Later he remarked to the disciples when they worried about him being hungry, that "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
Clearly Jesus was refering to a spiritual truth that was beyond the physical needs of drinking and eating. This is also a powerful reminder to us that whatever we do in Cambodia, it must go beyond just meeting the physical needs of the people. They need the water that will allow them not to thrist again, and the bread that will prevent them from being hungry again (John 6:35).
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