The Samaritan woman at the well is a wonderful model for all of us on our own journey of faith. Her actions invite us to stay connected to Jesus and ask questions about our faith in order to come to a fuller understanding of it. She models a way of doing this with convictions about what she learnt in the past and also openness to discovering new things about what God is doing in the world.
But just as our growth in faith is not only for our own benefit, the Samaritan woman takes her new learning and is propelled into action around her calling. She reaches out to her community and invites them to join her on the journey.
Whether we feel called to evangelize as she does or we are called to use our gifts in other ways, her story reminds us that our callings are opportunities to turn personal growth in faith into action for the sake of others. This is the movement of all disciples—growing in faith through a relationship with Jesus and moving outward to use our gifts for the sake of the world. Through her response to Jesus as an evangelist, we are reminded that being a follower of Jesus calls us to put our gifts into action for the sake of others.
