The Woman at the Well!

With the current hullabaloo over the political aspirations Margaret Wanjiru, her impending marriage, the paternity of her three children and all the other minutiae that seem to be consuming the Kenyan public mind at this time, the story of the Woman at the Well comes to mind.

And I am left pondering as to whether the current media hype surrounding this story is really about whether or not "he" is the husband, or - perhaps the more likely reason - the glee with which the world watches when a believer (especially one with three kids who don't know appear to know who their fathers are) is ridiculed and humiliated!

Without seeking to justify the behaviour of the lady in question, perhaps this is an opportune time to re-examine the story of the Woman at the Well, and consider how it applies to each one of us!

Source:

"The Samaritan woman at the well is no angel. Mixed up with a wrong crowd, this poor woman from Samaria has quite a reputation. .. She had been married five times and was living ... with a man who wasn't her husband.

The story also shows that a well of grace is ready to refresh the soul parched by sin and suffering and that Jesus comes to save the sick and to serve those who still need both physical and spiritual healing — not only the converted.

Her story is also relevant because it becomes an antecedent of Christian practices — that one may seek God's forgiveness for wrongdoing.

The woman at the well had her sins "washed away" by Jesus. The story shows that Jesus offers divine mercy in the living water of grace, which washes away sins and cleanses souls. The woman went to the well to get a jug of water. Instead, she got much more, including a cleansed and refreshed spiritual life.

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!"

—John 4:16–18

The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."

—John 4:25–26

She repents of her past misdeeds and goes back to tell her family, friends, and neighbors how she met Jesus and how he revealed his knowledge of her sins and his offer of live-giving water, which brings eternal life. She went on to lead many conversions in this area through her zeal and love for God (John 4:39–42)"

Enough said.