Now He had to go through Samaria. So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to Him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can You ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks 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.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that You are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
This, to me is a great example of what our lives should be like. If we call ourselves Christians, we should be seeking to emulate the life of Jesus. Jesus, in plain and simple language, starts with a simple question, “Will you give me a drink?” and ends up revealing to this unlikely character that He is the long-awaited Messiah. What He chose not to make public knowledge in Israel, He told to a woman that His culture said He should despise.
I have heard it said by many people that it is important for the modern Christian to be relevant in today's society. To this end, many Christians behave much the same way as non-Christians so as not to make Jesus seem uncool. Jesus stands this notion on its ear; He acts in a manner that was completely inconsistent with His culture and would cause many of His contemporaries to dismiss Him. It is indeed important that Christians not remove themselves from society; our society could definitely use a big dose of God.
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Unfortunately, some Christians go to far in the other direction. If a person so chooses, there is the so-called Christian media, supplying music, literature, movies, even education and dating websites completely insulated from the secular world. As Jesus prays, He does not ask that we be taken from the world, rather that we will be protected from the influence of the devil; who is the de facto ruler of the world.
As I have stated before and will likely state again, the real trick is to find a balance between the two extremes. I have found that the best way to do this is to constantly be searching for opportunities to let the light that is within you, the light of Jesus' love, shine into a dark world.
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
If nothing else, let me encourage you to be in God's word each day. If you are just starting out, let me recommend the book of John. The more familiar you are with the Bible, the more prepared you will be when you have the opportunity to speak.
No comments:
Post a Comment