Jacob's Well in West Montgomery
I was walking down Council Street during lunch this week when I saw Jacob’s Well in West Montgomery. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. As I looked to see Ms. Addrene cooking and serving over 160 lunches for the day and saw Ms. Doris meeting the tenth shoe request that hour and saw Ms. Angela talking with an ever-growing line of people expressing their need, I saw people drawing water from the well.
Over and over again, I saw the bucket going down into the well bringing up water. Shoes, clothes, groceries, lunches, snack bags, referrals to shelters, calls to partner agencies, computer and internet access for job applications, an HIV testing clinic, an intake day for a substance abuse recovery program, homework help, a book, a playground, a basketball court, I saw the bucket being dropped into the well and my team pulling up the rope to pass out any water that remains. But what I also saw is that nothing we ever do will be enough.
No matter what water we pass out, what direct needs we meet, what immediate problems we solve, what connections we make, it will never be enough. The need will be endless and reoccurring. So if we hinge all that we are doing on meeting the needs and passing out the water, then all that we do is meaningless. It’s good for a moment, sure, but not lasting.
And so this is where I see the significance of Jacob’s Well. All that we do is a means to an end. Every program we conduct is a tool to both share and demonstrate the love of Christ. The bucket and rope my team is lowering and raising is not meant to give water that will satisfy the momentary need but intended to point to the Living Water that will quench every thirst and satisfy every soul. If all that we do is to share the Gospel, to make Christ known, and to plant seeds that need to be planted or water the seeds others have planted and trust God to make them grow, then everything that we will do is not in vain. If that is our motive and that is our aim, then all that we do will have value on this side of Heaven and the next.
And that is what we do it for, that is what we do it all for. Every pair of shoes we distribute will soon be walked ragged, the plate will be empty quickly, but the love of God that flows through us and compassionately serves the individual will never fade or rip or run out. That is why we do this. Because every moment we serve in obedience to God and out of the Living Water that flows through us is a moment we can stand in confidently before our God and trust he will say “Well Done.”
Will you lower the rope and bucket with us? Will you partner with us in providing tools to the ministry and avenues of dispersing God’s loving grace, kindness, and mercy? With your gifts of time, talent, and treasure, you are planting a seed here and watering a seed there and God is growing a forest of trees where there once was only desert.
I see Jacob’s Well every day, and having drawn from it myself, never experiencing thirst again, I want that for every single person in West Montgomery and beyond. My team does as well, which is why we sacrifice and labor here. And now I’m inviting you too. Throw down the rope, and let’s bring all of the buckets, bowls, cups, and other tools we can to allow the endless river of Living Water to flow among our community.
God Bless,
Pastor Ken Austin