How Christ Changes People

How does Christ change people? Let’s see how Christ convinced a promiscuous and lonely Samaritan woman (John 4:6-26).
 
To begin, Christ talked to her. At that time, Jews didn’t mingle with Samaritans, and men wouldn’t talk in public to women they didn’t know. Also, she was an outcast (drawing water from a well alone at noon, rather than a cooler and busier hour of the day). In approaching her, Christ broke racial, gender, social, and moral barriers and showed Himself as a bridge between polar opposites in society.
 
What Christ was about to give to the woman was “the gift of God.” One with strength, money, power, or other indicators of social status wouldn’t have a higher chance to get it. It was and is a gift for everyone.
 
Second, Christ linked the Gospel to something important and desirable. Christ compared the Gospel to water, which is paramount for survival. Unlike laws that we are forced to follow, water is something one desperately needs.
 
Lastly, Christ showed her what she was pursuing would never satisfy her. When the Samaritan woman asked for the living water, Christ told her to bring her husband, a non-sequitur response. The woman had had five husbands, and the man with her at that point was not her husband. Christ wanted her to see that what she was seeking, be it water or men, would never be enough. She always had to return for more.
 
Irrespective of what we pursue—money, health, possession, beauty, sex, power, friendship, family, importance, or intelligence—we will never be satisfied. We always want more, and these things can destroy us.
 
But Christ’s living water wouldn’t abuse us. We don’t need to earn it. It is a gift.
 
On the cross, Christ asked for water, which symbolized Christ experiencing unquenchable thirst when His Father had forsaken Him. Because of His suffering, we can have the gift of the living water, the gift that can fully satisfy us.
 
Summarized from a Tim Keller sermon, titled, "The Gift that Fully Satisfies":
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/changed-lives-9171/
 


基督如何改变人
 
基督如何改变一个人呢？让我们来看祂如何说服一个淫乱和寂寞的撒玛利亚妇人（约翰福音4：6-26）。
 
首先，基督主动跟她交谈。在那时，犹太人不会与撒玛利亚人混在一起，并且男人更不会公然地和陌生的女人倾谈。这撒玛利亚妇人是一个被抛弃而又寂寞的人， 否则不会在中午最炎热的时候一个人去抽水，而不等到下午清凉一点的时刻。基督甘愿与她交谈，打破了种族、性别、社会禁忌和道德障碍，扮演着连接社会极端对立的桥梁。
 
基督要将“上帝的恩赐”送给这个妇人。即使有力量、金钱、权力或地位的人也不可有更高的机会获得它。这过去是，今天也是, 上帝给每一个人的礼物。
 
其次，基督将福音与重要且令人渴慕的事物联系起来。基督将福音与水比较。水对于身体是至关重要的。与被迫遵守的法律不同，水是生存之迫切所需。
 
最后，基督指明她所追求的永远不会让她满足。当撒玛利亚的妇人请求基督给可以满足她的活水时，基督要求她带丈夫回来，这是一个不合逻辑的回应。那女人曾经有过五位丈夫，而当时与她一起的男人并没有和她结婚。基督希望她可看到她所寻求的东西，无论是水还是男人，都不能完全满足她。她总会回去寻求更多。
 
无论我们追求什么在世上的物件或重要的事情--金钱, 健康, 美丽, 性, 权力, 友谊, 家庭或智慧--我们总觉得不够，总想要更多，而这些东西可能会摧毁我们。
 
基督的活水不会伤害我们，也不需做任何事来赚得它，这是一份可以白白得到的礼物。
 
基督在十字架上要求水喝，象征着祂在天父离弃祂的时侯无法抑制的渴望。因为祂的受苦，我们可以得到生命活水这份礼物，这份可以完全满足我们的宝贵礼物。