“Jesus
said to her, ‘Give me a drink’.” John 4:7
How easy is it to begin a dialogue
about God? We often freeze up at the very thought of how to do it. But Jesus
makes all the rough places plain. He makes talking about Him as simple as a
four word introduction, “Give me a drink”. It wasn’t just the words He said
that brought about the conversation; it was the kindness He showed in saying
those words. Jews despised Samaritans and the Samaritans felt the hatred as a
real lash on their backs. Jews wouldn’t even speak to Samaritans; but Jesus
did.
His comments to her were couched in
kindness. He didn’t run away when He saw her. He didn’t have anything nasty to
say to demean her. He simply talked with her like He would talk to His own
friends. That she found in Him a person who would treat her with dignity
surprised her. It opened her up to hear words of even greater love from His
lips. All conversations with others who are outside the church don’t have to
begin with buttonholing them and saying, “Let me tell you about your sin and
God’s grace.” They do need to begin with love, kindness, and the reality that
we are genuinely concerned for them. Then, like the woman at the well, they
just might give us the opening we need to make the greater story of Christ’s
love for them clear.
Dear
Father, Thank You for coming to us through the love of the cross and the
humility of Christ. Help us to go in the same way to a world that needs You.
Amen.
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