October 27 Time to Love

John 4:4-9 Now Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 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.)
 
JOHN, the apostle, is very deliberate in many ways to demonstrate God’s love. In John 4, we’ll see how Jesus’ extraordinary love pours richly into this woman in Sychar, Samaria. Let’s learn from our Lord, as he, weary in travel, stops to love on a woman weary in her soul.
   We can first witness the Lord’s love in his travel route from Judah to Galilee as he goes through Samaria. Samaria was once the Northern Kingdom – or Israel (also called Ephraim). Ten of the 12 tribes of the people Israel had split from the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Those two tribes formed the nation Judah, also called Judea. Because of their continual idol worship, the Lord destroyed Israel a few years before he exiled Judah to Babylon. The Samaritans of Jesus’ day were descended from a mix of Israel and other people groups. God’s law prohibited any Israelite from marrying Gentiles. Thus, the Jews – those living in Judah – viewed a Samaritan as impure, tainted with foreign bloodlines. Hatred between the Jews and Samaritans was so great, most Jews traveling from Judah to Galilee avoided Samaria.
   But the God who is love is traveling the way of love to his people.
   Graciously, the Lord God of Israel has come to heal this division among his people. Jesus walked against the cultural divide to demonstrate, “God so loved the world.” (John 3:16a) He then takes the second step into this love relationship when he asked the woman, “Will you give me a drink?”
   Do you want to know how to love your neighbor as yourself? Jesus shows you. You might think that a question asking for someone to serve you may not seem to be a start to a love relationship. But wait. What often happens when a stranger asks you for help? You feel honored and even privileged to fulfill a need. Likely, this was especially true with this woman. We will learn that she is an outcast. Would she not feel some worth as someone asked for her help? Jesus begins to show her value. Ultimately, he wants her to “lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalms 116:13)
   For the second time, Jesus has broken a cultural law. As we see, John tells us Jewish men never talked to Samaritan women. Cultural barriers could also have kept her from responding to the Lord’s request. But greater than these barriers is the Lord’s love. “Will you give me a drink?” effectively said, “I submit to your help. I am in need. You can help me. You have the ability to refresh me with some of the water you have come to draw.” Christ walks into Samaria and speaks to a Samaritan woman. Wow! God even reigns over the culture!
   How are you? Are you thirsty? Do you long to dink of God’s love, joy, peace and gentleness in your life. How has Jesus “walked” into your life to ask, “Will you give me a drink?” In other words, our Lord wants to see if you are willing to stop your daily life for a few minutes to consider your relationship with him. Are you willing to serve him? Do you love your neighbors enough to quench someone’s spiritual thirst? Are you willing to offer them a drink of your Lord?  
    
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have often stopped by to talk with me. I pray I will listen and respond to your love. In your name. Amen.