What's Your Mountain?

John 4:1-26

Photo by Fabrizio Conti on Unsplash

💥 THE BRIEFING

When was the last time you played poker? Or blackjack? I guess any card game would work.

I couldn't help but think about why we sometimes feel like the most important things in our lives are getting re-stacked to the bottom of the deck, and its usually God as the cosmic dealer doing this for our benefit. You see this in companies or organizations where important tasks, functions, roles seem to be eliminated or replaced. I've seen this with countless clients, both small business and Fortune 500.

And it makes you look at those around us too. We see someone who has all the shiny things, fancy shoes, nice new car, and you somehow stack them higher in your own mental catalog. But if you see someone at the bottom, begging on the side of the street, you just sort them to the bottom of that deck.

I couldn't help but think about this theme as I was going through John chapter 4 for this newsletter.

This woman was someone that Jesus should not have been talking to. Take away his position as a rabbi and the Messiah, but just as a man in first century Judea, he should not have been alone with a woman. He should not be seen talking to a woman in public. When you stack on the fact that he was the Messiah and a rabbi, it makes it even more complex and taboo.

But that's not what Jesus does. He comes out of his high place. He steps down from a pedestal, which is what we need to do as husbands and fathers and step down and show that we do not have hard and found borders, our roads must be passable when necessary. We do not have mountains that we refuse to traverse, and we shouldn’t have mountains we’re willing to die on besides our faith in Jesus.

Here's the thing though. Whenever we're challenged with anything, what do we do naturally as humans? We put up a fight or we switch the argument to something we feel we can win. We do this with our politics with our policy positions. When we get challenged in something we don't feel comfortable with, we switch it to something else.

And that's exactly what the woman at the well did here. She switched the conversation from her own challenges and problems and this concept of living water, which is really just a parallel you can make to Jesus's blood for us, as living water would’ve been understood as needed for ritual purification. And she diverted it along racial divisions, saying that "Well, you guys worship here, and we worship here," and how that's not fair or that's not the way that it should be.

We do this as well. We have our own mountains that we do and do not cross or boundaries we will not walk through. In reality, that's exactly what Jesus is showing us and encouraging us to do here.

But here's the thing that got me this week: Jesus had zero respect for those boundaries.

In John 4, Jesus does something that would've made first-century jaws drop. He talks to a Samaritan woman. Alone. At a well. In broad daylight.

This wasn't just crossing cultural lines, he was straight up obliterating them. Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Men didn't speak to unaccompanied women in public. And this particular woman? She had a reputation that kept her drawing water in the heat of midday instead of the cool morning hours with the other women.

Jesus’ humanity (and his divinity) saw all the red flags, all the reasons to keep walking, all the social warnings and he sat down anyway.

🎙️ THE CORNER TALK

Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

The Greek phrase Jesus uses in John 4:10 is:

ὕδωρ ζῶν (hydōr zōn)

• ὕδωρ = water

• ζῶν = living, alive, active (from ζάω, to live)

This isn’t still water in a bucket. It’s moving, fresh, flowing, it is like a spring or a river. Which is why the woman is probably confused because if there was a spring or river nearby she would’ve known.

In John 7:38, Jesus says:

“Whoever believes in Me…streams of living water will flow from within him.”
(He was speaking about the Spirit.)

So this “living water” isn’t a thing, it’s a Person. The Holy Spirit, alive in us.

Fast forward to John 14. Jesus says:

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth…
You know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.”
— John 14:16–17

🥊 THE FIGHT PLAN

Challenge: Cross the Boundaries You've Built

This Week's Drills:

1. Map Your Samaria: Write down one person or group you've been avoiding. Not because they're dangerous, but because they're inconvenient, uncomfortable, or complicated.

2. Check Your Excuse: Ask yourself honestly, what boundary have I used to justify keeping my distance? Politics? Social status? Past drama? Personal preference?

3. Make the Move: Approach that person this week. Not with an agenda to fix or change them, but with simple kindness. Buy them coffee. Send an encouraging text. Show up where they are.

4. Practice Redirection: When someone deflects with "but" statements, don't argue the logistics. Point them to the deeper truth, just like Jesus did.

🤝 THE HUDDLE

What does this tell us about God? He's always moving toward us, across every line we thought was uncrossable. While we're building walls, he's tearing them down.

What does this tell us about humanity? We hide behind shame and build mountains out of pride, identity, and preferences. We'd rather stay thirsty than admit our need.

What does this tell us about Jesus? He breaks every barrier to offer living water, life that doesn't just fill us up but wells up and overflows to others.

What does this tell us to do? Stop hiding behind your boundaries. Stop making excuses about why certain people are off-limits. Step down from your mountain and offer the living water you've received.

In your corner,
Chance