Holy spirit transforms society

Ultimately, it is only the Holy Spirit who can bring about the transformation of society. It is the Holy Spirit who brings unity, breaking down the divisions of gender, race and social position. Those indwelt by the Holy Spirit should be at the forefront of the fight for gender, racial and social equality. Jesus’ conversation with this woman was all about the Holy Spirit. She doesn’t need a lecture; she needs living water. He says to her, ‘All who drink this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (vv.13–14). Jesus came to quench our thirst for acceptance, relationship and meaning. The life we receive is the life we give. We become a source of life for others. The transformation of society starts with the Holy Spirit transforming our lives. It starts with drinking the water of life, which Jesus gives to everyone who believes in him. When the Holy Spirit comes to live within you he becomes a permanent spring of overflowing water throughout your life and into eternity. You are transformed by the Holy Spirit and by your personal relationship with God. The word used for ‘worship’ here means ‘to go down on our knees, to draw close in an intimate relationship of love’ – we ‘must worship in spirit and in truth’ (v.24).