Los Amates Waterfall hides in the Guatemalan wilderness. Determined hikers can reach the rocks in three hours, but most need a guide to navigate the wandering trails. The gorgeous view is worth the wait.
Los Amates Waterfall stretches thirty-five meters high before tumbling into a cool pool of clear water. Tired travelers dive in, enjoying a refreshing swim in the clear water. This mini-oasis holds a special place in the hearts of Santa Rosans, though it can remain undiscovered by outsiders due to its remote nature.
In John 4, Jesus also traveled to an oft-forgotten water feature. After a successful time in Judea, Jesus returned to Galilee. He chose an unconventional path. Instead of traveling along the east side of the Jordan River, he journeyed through Samaria.
Though the Samaritans also worshiped Yahweh, many Jews considered Samaritans “unclean” due to their intermarrying with the local (non-Hebrew) population a few hundred years before. A strong racial and religious divide led to nasty confrontations and a refusal to interact. Yet despite all this, the Spirit led Jesus and his disciples to Jacob’s well in the heart of Samaria.
Exhausted from his travels, Jesus rested at the well while his disciples headed into town to gather supplies. A Samaritan woman approached to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink. The woman was confused. Why would a Jew share a water pitcher with an “unclean” Samaritan?
Jesus responded: “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). In the days before Brita filters, flowing water was the cleanest source of drinking water available. Places like the Los Amates Waterfall or Jacob’s Well were key features of a healthy community. The woman, misunderstanding Jesus’ use of the word “living water”, is understandably eager to discover this new source of clean water..
Jesus clarified: “But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:24). Jesus offered much more than a simple cup of water. He shared his Holy Spirit.
Like a thundering waterfall or a bubbling spring, the Holy Spirit indwells all believers, filling them with eternal life. The water is never stagnant, full of bacteria, or decay. The source never runs dry. The Spirit satiates all thirst, eternally shaping, refreshing, and renewing our souls. Literal water is integral to life on earth as the Holy Spirit is to our spiritual life.
Yet when the Samaritan woman asked for this water, Jesus demonstrated prophetic knowledge by speaking of her previous marriages and current living situation – something a stranger surly would not know.
The Samaritan woman recognized Jesus as a prophet and sought from him how to properly worship God. Jesus then revealed himself to be the promised Messiah, able to grant her living water (eternal life). This is the first time in the Gospel of John that Jesus declares himself God. The woman left her jar and rushed to the village, proclaiming the good news.
Life is full of scorching seasons—trials that leave us parched and desperate for water. Like the woman at the well or weary hikers on a wandering trail, we search for relief. Jesus Christ grants living water to all who ask. Our hearts hold a bubbling stream, a thundering waterfall, welling up to eternal life.
