— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
Underestimating the exclusive life changing power of grace
“In the heat of the middle of the day, all the others have returned to their homes a long time ago with their water jars. It is now more than five years that I cannot walk with the them anymore; no more chatting, listening to the latest news of our town, no one asks anymore how I am. It seems that it is exactly the glistening light of the middle of the day that seems to make me invisible, no one to see in the streets. By now I am used to it and almost happy that I don’t meet anyone. If water would not be the essential for life, I would have stopped walking every day out to the well Jacob had given us long ago. He must have worked hard in faith to dig the deep hole that provides me and my partner every day with the water we need. Again and again my worry whether there is still enough water left, when pulling it up all the way out of the dark hole. Every day’s hard work just to make it to the next. There is no rest, only work and worry whether the next day will provide again enough. While I am thankful for the faithful digging of Jacob and the well, I feel tired and exhausted from these daily chores, yet I know I have to continue. I am nearly there, but who is this man at the well? I have not seen him before. Can I go there or shall I wait? I need to get back, so I cannot wait and why should he want anything from me?”
And then the Samaritan woman meets Jesus at the well and her life will be changed forever (John 4:1-42). Both speak about water. But one draws her water from a well, while the other offers water from a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Both provide water as a source of life. Yet, the one water is worked hard for and needs to be pulled up bucket by bucket, a spring gushes forth and provides water seemingly without effort. While the well itself has been created by hard work of men, a spring brings forth the water naturally out of the depth.
Later Jesus will tell the people in Jerusalem: ““Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. ” By this he meant the Spirit.” (John 7:37-39).
Sometimes we work so hard to have God’s Spirit within us. Digging deeper and deeper to reach the water, reinforcing the well to keep this access open, walking every day to have our refill. This is contrasted by Jesus with an image of an overflowing spring where water is just grace-fully given to everyone who is thirsty and comes to Jesus. How come that we still dig and dig and dig, turning into busy, hard workers, so that our faces hardly reflect the joy and peace promised with this living water? How can we learn to accept grace into our life? Trusting His promises, recognizing the undeserved blessings overflowing, will hopefully make us humble, grateful, and allow us to rest in a faith made stronger in the presence of my Saviour.
Lord, let me “take Your yoke upon me and learn from You, for You are gentle and humble in heart, and I will find rest for my soul. For Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light.” (personalized from Matthew 11:28-30)
Lord, every day I pray for more of You and less of me
More trust, more belief in my life
so that “Your peace which transcends all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
Let our faces radiate the grace we have received from You and let us inspire, lift up and embrace the broken hearted, let us become a spring of living water to the thirsty around us.
Amen.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8–9)
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 
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