The excited woman flew along the road with the gait of an athlete. Except for her hem, which she held high enough for her sandaled feet to pound the ground freely, she was empty-handed. She was not empty-hearted though. A great exultation filled it nearly to bursting. She could barely believe what she had just experienced.
    Only an hour before, she had passed this same way. Then she had trudge over the hot, dry ground, shoulders drooping, gait slow and unsteady. Tired to death, with a heart more dead than alive, she had felt like a burnt-out old woman, thinking only of her parched lips and aching feet. But now everything had changed! Now the dull gray terrain exploded with color. Her once-worn face glowed, her dreary eyes danced, and her downcast spirit sang for joy. It had been years since she had felt such excitement. In fact, nothing had ever excited like the events of this hour – not even her first wedding! Run faster! She told herself. I’ve got to get home! I’ve got to tell EVERYONE!
    She had been a sinful woman, unworthy of redeeming. No one in her town thought she had any future – least of all herself. Although she had longed for a new way of life, it seemed too late for her. But she had just met someone who claimed – and whom she believed – to be the Messiah. The new life she thought unreachable had come to her. In one short visit, this man named Jesus had somehow known all her failures and sin. Yet He gave her no tongue-lashing or moral lecture – just an incredible invitation. He offered to rescue her from hopeless futility and enable her to break free from her past into a gloriously transformed life full of hope. Such good news!
    She knew, however, that she could not keep such good news to herself; she had to tell her neighbors about Jesus. Overcoming many obstacles to sharing her faith – embarrassment, shame, resentment, selfishness, and complacency, to name a few – she felt joyously compelled to tell everyone, friends and enemies alike. We call her heart The Good News Heart. Let’s look more closely at her story. . . .

From the “Lessons for Our Hearts” section of this chapter:

(Subheadings in this section:  Hear the Mandate, Drink the Living Water, Look at the Harvest, Hear the Call to the Harvest, Know the Urgency of the Hour, Overcome the Hindrances, Go to Work in the Harvest, One More Word About Living Water, A Soul's Worth)

From A Soul’s Worth
    Think of all the “important” appointments that got canceled on September 11, 2001. Suddenly none of them mattered anymore. Our entire nation sat watching and praying as networks broadcast the riveting images of thousands of rescue workers and volunteers at “ground zero” poring through the tons of rubble that had been our World Trade towers. In the early hours five people were rescued, and who could measure the joy and celebration that erupted over these!
    Spurred on by these few successes, rescuers labored frantically, hour after hour, day in and day out, afraid to quit. Perhaps beneat the next steel beam was someone still waiting to be rescued. They had to find that person! Exhausted, they kept working, hoping against hope to pull out a miracle. They would have paid any price for it. In fact, they did. Worming their way through tiny passages beneath the rubble, they risked their very lives every minute. But that did not stop them. How they wanted to hand their mayor some good news. But each day hopes dimmed, and the mayor grew graver and graver. Finally everyone knew the window of opportunity had passed. It was simply too late for that one last rescue.
    What is one soul worth to you? Jesus took time one day at Jacob’s well to reach one immortal soul. He died for that soul’s salvation. Now He looks to us to do our part. In the spiritual realm, there is a crisis of cosmic proportions. Billions of souls stand in the balance. Christ’s loving heart breaks for them. He wants to broadcast joyfully to the heavens that these lost souls are being rescued from eternal death. The days are slipping by. He urges us on, saying, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).
    Until that curtain of night drops, we must work diligently. Yet ours is not a fruitless, depressing search. This is still harvest time when fields are ripe for picking. All heaven stands on tiptoe, watching our progress. Jesus gives us a small glimpse: “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). . . .