The story of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 really stood out to me last week. It jumped from the pages, meandered through my thoughts, convicted me, called me to change.
People tend to think I'm shy. The truth is, I don't really feel comfortable starting conversations or even leading conversations because I'm always afraid of being pushy. I seem to always think that people are not interested in what I say or don't want to talk to me; I don't talk much so they're not forced to talk to me. Its really just an excuse and I'm being over-protective of myself.
In John 4, Jesus is in the middle of a long walk from Judea to Galilee. He stops in Samaria despite the differences (read: hate) between Jews and Samaritans. Hundreds of years prior to the time of Jesus, the Jewish inhabitants of Samaria began to intermarry with the Gentiles that had been sent there when Israel was exiled. Contact with Gentiles meant ceremonial impurity. Contact with the impure meant impurity too. So, since the Samaritans were constantly impure, according to Jewish standards, any Jew who wanted to remain pure could not have contact with them.
Jesus arrives in Samaria at around noon, sends his disciples out to buy food, and takes a seat by a deep well. A woman enters the scene, planning to draw water while no one else is around. She visits the well during the hottest time of the day when she knows she won't run into anyone. You see, she's not just another ceremonially unclean Samaritan; she's also unclean because of her obvious sin: she's had five husbands and now lives in adultery with a sixth man. Whether she was ridiculed or just felt shame for her reputation is not known, but its no coincidence that she avoids people.
What would I have done if I'd been the one sitting by that well? Honestly, I probably would have smiled at her and returned to staring at the rocks by my feet. I would have just sat there in silence, waiting for her to either speak to me or leaver after drawing her water.
Jesus took a different approach. He spoke to her first. It was simple, really: "Give me a drink." He started the conversation, knowing who she was, knowing the challenges that would come in their conversation, knowing how sassy she would be in some of her replies. He spoke to her instead of waiting for her to approach him.
The funny thing is, she later takes the initiative too. When she realizes who it is she's speaking to, she runs into the village full of the people she'd been avoiding to tell them the good news. She had found the Messiah, the Savior of the world! Did her shame matter any more?
So why should my pride and possible popularity matter? I know there are people around me like the woman by the well, people who are ready to embrace Christ when they hear about his forgiveness because they've been prepared by the Spirit. What do I have to be afraid of if there are some who are ready to believe? I also know I am the woman by the well, saved by grace from gross sin by a loving God who chose to reveal himself to me. I found the Messiah and nothing else should matter.
0 comments:
Post a Comment