To Know and Be KnownSample

HE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU

The saddest consequence of sin is separation from God. When our desire to be seen by God is removed, hiding from Him is often our first reaction to the presence of guilt. Darkness is more appealing than light when we want our actions to be overlooked. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, the first thing they did was cover themselves and hide. That’s one of the many sorrows sin provides: it destroys relationships. When we participate in deeds of darkness, we flee from the light. 

In John 4 we read a story about a Samaritan woman who encountered Jesus as He was sitting by the well where she draws water. Jesus looked at her and asked her to give Him a drink of water. She was surprised that Jesus noticed her, and even more amazed that He spoke to her! Jesus explained that if she knew the gift of God, their roles would be reversed. She would be the one asking Him for Living Water. The woman accepted His invitation and asked for the gift of Living Water. Jesus replied with an unexpected request: “Go and get your husband.” 

Astonished, she replied, “I don’t have a husband.” Jesus confirmed her words when He replied, “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.” 

His words must have conveyed compassion, concern, and truth because she stayed with him at the well and the conversation continued. She told him, “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.”

Jesus, in His love and mercy, made a dedicated trip to Samaria just to meet the woman who needed a Savior. The Bible made it a point to say that it was noon when she went to draw water. Why would she choose this hour when most people filled their water pots in the cool of the morning, not in the midday heat? It seems to me like she was trying to avoid engaging with others. Was she tired of hearing the judgmental whispers and gossip aimed at her life choices? Was she wearied by the haughty eyes of contempt that rolled when she approached? Word gets around in small towns. If her reputation preceded her, then the ostracism she felt drove her to hide in the shadows. 

What a surprise it must have been when she saw Jesus sitting at the well. He knew her heart was longing for the Messiah, so He met her where she was, in a place of basic necessity. He was not tolerant of her sin—He actually exposed it—but He spoke to her with such understanding that she left her water jug behind, went back to her town, and began to evangelize! 

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 

They came out of the town and made their way toward him. John 4:29-30

God knew everything about her and still wanted her to be part of His family. She was completely seen, completely known, and completely loved in spite of her failures and mistakes. Jesus is the God who sees the brokenhearted and responds to those who call on His name. The same woman who had been ashamed and separated from her community now held her head high, filled with the confidence that she would lead many in her town to Jesus.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” John 4:39

POINTS TO PONDER:

One of the most important things you can do is, like the woman at the well, bring people to Jesus. There is power in your testimony. 

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Jesus didn’t shy away from confronting the Samaritan woman’s sinful behavior, but He did it in a way that she was willing to receive and listen to His words. His kindness brought her to repentance. May we be like Jesus and have the courage to confront sin while at the same time loving the person and inviting them to receive Jesus, the Living Water that cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Saint Augustine put it this way: Act with love for the persons and hatred of their sins.