| There is no other stream |

Draw back the curtains and hear these words. A girl named Jill has just entered the magical world of Narnia. She is thirsty, so she heads into the forest in search of a stream. When she finally finds a stream, she is terrified because a lion sits beside it. The lion tells her to come and drink.

"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.

"I'm dying of thirst," said Jill.

"Then drink," said the Lion.

"May I - could you - would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.

"Will you promise not to - do anything to me, if I do come? said Jill.

"I make no promise," said the Lion.

"Do you eat girls?" she said.

"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.

"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.

"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.

"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."

"There is no other stream," said the Lion.

Beauty bursts forth from this reading, deep rich theological beauty. Ponder the Biblical image of water, of a well of living water, of the stream flowing through the heavenly city. Move from here to the story of John 4, wherein we see an encounter between the Son of God and a woman at a watering place, at a well.

Furthermore, think about the symbolism behind meeting someone at a well. Look back through the stories of Jacob and Isaac meeting their wives at wells. Relationships find their foundation in encounters at wells. The woman of Samaria encountering Jesus is no different. Surely she is not the future wife of Jesus, but marriage is a discussion at the well. She has had many husbands; she has had a pluralistic lifestyle. Yet John 4 is not a lesson about marriage, for it is one about worship, and worship is about relationship.

I urge you to consider the woman of Samaria and the discussions she has with Jesus. The discussion of living waters is but one part of the story. Worship is the point that Jesus is building to. Just as marriage is a relationship built between two people, so too is worship. The backdrop of this is that history tells of the Israelites falling into Baal worship and Molech worship, thereby forsaking the worship of their God.

In the story by C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair, Jill desires to go and find a different stream. She is terrified of the Lion. She has the fear of God inside her, wrecking havoc on her mind and body such that she is immobilized and afraid. Yet the choice before her is life or death, the stream, or no stream. "There is no other stream."

This is the beginning point of Christianity. We must realize that God is the only stream, the only source of life, and the only hope in a dark and unknown forest. We must meet God at the well, and although we may be terrified at His majesty and power, at His ability to consume us and devour us, and because He detests sin, we must take hold of our trembling legs and take a drink of the living waters that spring up inside of us a well of eternal life. This is faith and fear and devotion and worship wrapped in one amazing choice.