God Speaking to Us Today Through the Woman at the Well

He had to go through Samaria on the way.   Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." - John 4: 4-7 (NLT)

So begins the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. The Bible is alive and filled with lessons for us to consider in our lives. The story unfolds as Jesus is on His way to Galilee and had to pass through Samaria. Tired from the long walk, Jesus sits at Jacob's well and waits for this Samaritan woman to show up. He had a divine appointment with her this day, like He once had with each of us. I remember the divine appointment He made with me. I remember the certainty of it being assured by the newly indwelt Holy Spirit. But as we watch this story play on, we see God teaching us His ways.

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?" -- John 4: 9 (NLT)

Man divides where God seeks to unite. This is lesson number one in this tale. There was fierce animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. The Jews considered them half-breeds and traitors. After the Assyrian Empire scattered the ten Northern Tribes, those remaining intermarried with other peoples and adopted their idolatrous practices. When Nehemiah returned from Babylonian exile to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, it was Samaritans who opposed his work. This wasn't just being disagreeable -- there was real disdain for each other. So, when Jesus asks her to draw water for Him, she is stunned.

God doesn't care about the little boxes we try to fit ourselves into. God did not create denominations -- man did. God crosses these petulant and petty lines and seeks to bring us together. There are plenty of practices in Pentecostal churches that are not found in the Bible. Same can be said for Catholics or any other "branch" of Christianity. We should always draw the line with rank heresy and not allow anyone to compromise the Gospel, but many of the doctrinal differences are of the minor type. So often we try to exclude people when we are actually tasked with drawing people in. We see the woman at the well every day and we can tend to pass judgment upon her instead of reaching out to start a simple conversation. We sit next to the woman at the well on the bus going to work or in the cubicle next to us. Christianity was not supposed to be a country club requiring membership but rather a vehicle God can use to share the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. The story continues...  

Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." -- John 4: 10 (NLT)

The world does not understand the gift we have received; lesson number two. Quite frankly, sometimes we do not fully grasp the gift we have received, so let us start there. Even as Christians we can tend to value the wrong life. We can tend to value the wrong world. That is how so many fall for such obvious heretical teachings such as prosperity doctrine.

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