John 4:3-18

The cry of emptiness rings from both the bleakest ghetto and the ritziest mansion. The same echo of a meaningless life reverberates at the downtown bar and the country club. There are senior citizens, middle-aged men and women, and teens with equally hollow hearts, for which no medical prescription exists.

The Samaritan woman at the well symbolizes millions throughout time who have given their best efforts to satisfy the yearning for love and completion. Until a person tastes the Lord’s love, the sense of emptiness cannot be permanently satisfied. We were created to honor and glorify God; no other act of adoration—whether toward the opposite sex, worldly position, work, or money—can bring a sense of long-term pleasure and purpose.

No wonder the Samaritan woman eagerly accepted Jesus’ offer of a drink that would quench her thirst forever (John 4:15). The promise of salvation includes more than the elimination of guilt: When someone trusts Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells the new believer and expresses divine love to and through him or her. If we’re willing to acknowledge Christ’s death on our behalf and ask His forgiveness for our sins, which put Him on the cross, then we can experience the overflow of God’s love filling our emptiness.

The believer who feels hollow must honestly confess any sin harbored in the heart. Wrongdoing and idolatry block fellowship with the Father, but repentance breaks the dam. The only fulfillment for an empty life is God’s freely offered love.