Why?

Why?

When God instructed Moses to take his staff and strike the rock, allowing water to gush forth, God was providing humanity with the life-giving spring water of eternal life. All God asks is that we be faithful to Him and love Him. This is when the Jews in the desert began to believe in one God, even though their abstinence did not allow them to enter the promised land, only their children could.

This Exodus passage teaches us that God will provide for all our needs; we only have to love Him, but our own obstinance clouds our ability to recognize His life-giving presence in our lives. All our lives we are His children, the sheep of His pasture, and its caretakers. We are gifted with this and responsible for this. But first, we must learn how to be God’s children. We must learn how to be loved. We must learn how to receive love. We must learn how to pass this love to others.

This may cause us great suffering, but as Paul says, suffering blesses us with endurance, which blesses us with character and hope. Hope for our futures, living in His pastures. Hope permits us God’s love which passes into our hearts through the ever-present Holy Spirit. We are truly blessed.

The meeting of the woman at Jacob’s well tells us of the water that Jesus gives us, the water of everlasting life. Jesus promises that this fresh spring water gives us everlasting life. How enriching this is to experience the love that Jesus has for this unknown and unnamed woman. We recognize the specialness of Jesus because he was able to humble himself and love everyone. If we are also children of God, how is it possible that we cannot do the same? Is it impossible for us to humble ourselves as Jesus did? He has shown us the way; now we must learn to follow.

God chose people from the lowest ranks of society to lead. Moses was a slave; Jesus was a poor carpenter. Why? Why does God live with the forgotten ones? Why? Perhaps if we humble ourselves, perhaps if we trust in God, we will learn why.