really got me.
In the morning, Pastor Danny (who is back from India safe and sound and bespectacled!!) preached from John chapter 4, about Jesusand the Samaritan woman at the well. Ione and I have done an overview at this point in our Precepts study of chapters 1 through 9, so we have done the basics from that chapter, but Danny really got in there in depth. It really struck me how Jesus went completely out of His way to meet this particular woman. Danny said that culturally, women drew their water in the coolest times of the day, and when Jesus went to the well, it was the hottest time of the day. The women would make a social gathering and chat to one another as they filled their water jars-- this particular woman would not have felt welcome amongst them. She would have been the object of their gossip-- having had 5 husbands and living now with a man she wasn't married to. So she chose to avoid confrontation with them by drawing her water midday in the heat. He also said that Jews never went from Judea to Galilee via Samaria, even though it would be the most sensible path-- a fairly straight line-- because they considered Samaria to be unclean and a mixed breed etc. So they would go out of their way to avoid the country.
But Jesus cut straight through and went to the well-- knowing that this particular woman would be there. He knew her inside out-- her past, her present and her future. He went there specifically to meet her. That really struck me. That He loved her so much to go so far out of His way just to speak to her and to save her. Through His conversation with her, she realised her sin, and went away to the townspeople and told them all about Jesus and many of them came to Jesus themselves.
Such an odd way of reaching people-- picking someone who is know by all the town, but for all the wrong reasons. But Jesus had His reasons. And He still does. How incredible to think that God has the desire to reach right out to each one of us individually...
Posted by kristen at February 16, 2004 5:10 PM