From A High Place to a Low Place

Today, we are looking at an action of the young woman, which enables her to give what she has to the one in need. Remember, she has water and the servant of Abraham needs water. The action is a commonsense action, you may think, and so it is, but it teaches us on a higher level. It brings a vivid picture of who the humble are and what they will do to help a person in need. This really arrested me, when I was shown, not told, but shown, by faith, the action of the humble one to help the needy one. Look at it! Our text tells us that the woman, quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

As I said, the action is what everyone will do. It’s the only way that one will get water from you, the way the truly humble are prepared to take. Ever present on our consciousness, is the fact that all this is being given to a stranger, a traveller, whom she knows nothing about, on a journey of which she knows nothing about.

We cannot but look beyond, to our own Jesus Christ, our Pattern and Example; our Lord and Master, who has said that His servants are not above Him and they are to do as He has taught them and shown them. This includes all of us who belong to Him and are His workers. Be fully refreshed with these facts about God the Son. He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on the cross! Philippians 2: 7 – 8.

On one occasion, when Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people, along with His own disciples, He told them outright; For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23: 12.

Our Lord was humility itself and taught humility to all. When we look again, with even more appraised eyes, at the actions of that young woman, we too are humbled when we note the lowering of her water jar. If we will take her water jar as symbolic of life, if we allow our minds to be taken by the Spirit Himself, the first picture we are made to face is Jesus Himself who is the Water of Life – the Living Water. Jesus is our High Place, but in order to offer Him to others, we have to remove Him, as it were, from our high, prominent places, so that those who are thirsty may drink.

Let me give you the example which comes directly to mind. Here is Peter, Jesus' faithful disciple who carries Jesus high in him. But when Gentiles need the Word, Jesus the Living Word, Peter, in a very real sense has to remove Jesus from where he has Him placed and in order to walk a very humbling path, to give the Word to them.

We all have our Lord in high positions and places in our hearts and minds and rightly so, for it is the only way to safely carry Him, as that woman carried her water jar on her shoulders. But like her, we meet certain occasions when, in order to do the work our Master wants us to do, we have to live the way and walk of humility. I ask you. Can you imagine that servant of Abraham not receiving water, not because there is no water; not because he is asking amiss; not because he is being ridiculous in his asking; not because of anything, but the unwillingness of the possessor of water, to lower the jar so that the thirsty may drink?

Are you sure that nobody is going without Jesus today, because of your refusal to humble yourself?

Receive

See, the kind and humble with water lifted high,

Clearly hears the plea of a stranger’s thirsty cry,

The jar’s lifted high, whether on shoulder or head,

It must be lowered for the thirsty to be fed.