Then leaving her water jar, the
woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told
me everything I ever did. Could this be
the Christ?” They came out of the town
and made their way toward him. John
4:28-30
Most forms of pretense likely had failed her by now; there wasn’t much face
left to save. Yet when Jesus told the
woman to call her husband and come back to the well, she hid behind a
partial truth, “I have no husband.” “The
fact is,” Jesus replied, “you have had five husbands, and the man you now have
is not your husband.” And with that, her
tenuous grip on pride gave way; there was nothing more to hide.
We ache for her. She had reached that
point we all dread, where the public image we portray no longer conceals the
private realities we disguise. But have
you ever noticed that “truth” was always Jesus’ starting point with
people? Whether confronting the greed of
the young ruler or affirming the belief of the scribe who embraced the two
greatest commandments, Jesus always went to the heart of an issue, exposing
falsehoods and affirming truth. And he
still does!
When we conceal sin in our lives, we limit God’s grace in our lives. But once we confront the full truth of a
matter, then we are able to appreciate the full grace in the matter. And we live freely in the acceptance of the
one who knows us entirely, yet loves us completely.
Jesus once said, “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)” That midday at the well, the Samaritan woman’s
last vestige of pride withered under the bright light of truth and fell to the
ground. In its place sprouted grace, and it bore much fruit.
So to what point of truth is Jesus bringing you? Is it the gentle conviction of a certain sin
pattern from which he wants you to be free?
Is he leading you to the truth of who you are in him – a highly
treasured child of God, being carefully formed into the likeness of Christ?
Wherever it is, go with him to that place … that place of truth and grace. There you will find freedom. And there you will bear much fruit.
[To see the daily reading in John 4:25-30, click here.]
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.” .... Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town
and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever
did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:17, 28-29
“Listen, listen; love, love.”
That’s the Kairos Prison Ministry motto.
Though had I heard it refrained many times during the weeks leading up to
my first weekend inside the prison, nothing could have prepared me for the
power of “listen, listen; love, love” in action.
Throughout my life as a believer, I had heard gospel truths shared with nonbelievers
many times. On the other hand, I had also seen humble and sincere acts of kindness offered with no mention of
Christ at all.
But never had I experienced anything as explosive as the gospel shared in an
atmosphere of unconditional acceptance, service and love. Yet such was that Kairos weekend.
And what burst forth from that working of grace and truth was almost unfathomable. Grudges dissolving. Hurts healing. New life birthing. Tears brimming. Smiles appearing. Hope restoring. Friendships forming.
People need to be heard. People need to
be known. It means everything to them,
as I heard one inmate express to a Kairos volunteer, “In my 40 years, no man
has ever listened to me like you do.” It
was a brave moment of vulnerability for the prisoner ... and a humbling feeling of unworthiness for the
volunteer.
Listening is how we come to understand people.
It’s how we begin to see them as Jesus sees them. It’s how we come to care about them and to
love them ... I mean, truly love them.
And love opens imprisoned hearts, freeing them in truth, releasing them to hope in promises kept. Promises of healing and salvation and restoration. Promises now and forever fulfilled in
the Christ of God.
“Listen, listen; love, love.” And as hearts open to receive him, “speak,
speak” of Jesus.
Who needs for you to listen today? Who needs your unconditional love? Whose heart is ready and waiting for you to speak of Jesus?
[To see the daily reading in John 4:27-42, click here.]
Meanwhile his
disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” John 4:31-32
[Today’s text, John 4:27-38, is found within the story of Jesus and the Samaritan
woman at the well, which you can read by clicking here.]
I am a grazer. Thanksgiving aside, I’m not normally one for heaping food portions,
preferring instead to “supplement” meals by nibbling on this and that throughout the
day. It keeps the engines running at a
steady hum.
Yet I’ve noticed that, when deeply engrossed in something and making headway –
whether reading or writing, upkeep or yard work, cardio or lifting – food is
the last thing on my mind. In fact, it’s
an unwanted distraction. It breaks focus
when I need focus.
It seems counter-intuitive that when applying ourselves the most, our interest
in food is at its lowest. But then we
realize there is more to us than our bodies, that our whole-person nourishment
is not limited to “four basics,” neatly stacked into a tidy pyramid. In fact, our spirits are strengthened by
creating and accomplishing, learning and understanding, giving and serving,
worship and praise. Our innermost
cravings are satisfied not by meat or grain, but by truth, obedience and the
healthy fruit they produce.
Jesus understood this; his disciples did not.
So he told them. “My food is to
do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” That’s what energized Jesus! The deepest hunger within him was only satisfied by
doing his Father’s will; finishing his Father’s work was the sole quenching of
his soul’s thirst.
Even as he spoke, the Samaritan town-folks made their way toward him like “fields ... ripe for harvest.” And of that, there was much, for John
writes, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him.”
Jesus did as his Father willed. And by
that measure, he was satisfied, his spirit was full.
But his was not the only soul to feast that day! Jesus harvested new believers as his Father
provided them, but who planted that crop?
It was the woman at the well ... the one who’d had five husbands and was
living with someone else at the time ... the one who shared openly the only
testimony she had: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” It was she who did the sowing … or what Jesus
called “the hard work.”
And in doing so, she, too, had done the will of the Father. She, too, was well fed and satisfied. It must have been, for her, a Thanksgiving meal.
