A parched soul

When the Samaritan woman came to draw water at Jacob's Well (John 4) she brought all of her emotional and spiritual baggage along with her. Although she may not have been able to describe it in an elegant manner, she was a parched soul, looking for hope, love and an authentic faith. 

And the miracle of this encounter was that Jesus was already waiting for her. He had the best seat in the house, and he used this encounter to compassionately offer her 'living water.' He could have focused on her sin and continued to heap shame on her, but he chose to give her freedom. 

Dan Clendenin - His simple request for a drink of water provoked a dialogue with a marginalized woman that teaches us that God does not desire any human being to shrivel and die from a broken body or a parched soul. Rather, he longs to quench our deepest needs and desires with the "living water" of his Spirit.

Psalm 107:35 - He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Secondhand faith

 

I came across a lovely paragraph in The Relentless Love of Jesus written by Brennan Manning. 

"....many committed Christians must acknowledge, "I have been content to learn about You (Jesus) at secondhand, Lord. From Scriptures and saints, from priests and preachers. I wish I could say to all of them, as the Samaritan villagers said to the woman who met Jesus at the well, "It is no longer because of what you said that I believe, for I have heard for myself."

This surely is the goal for each one of us, including myself. It is good to hear about Jesus from others and this is an important part of our spiritual awakening, but we need to come to a point where we say ourselves: "I believe in Jesus!" And this is our personal statement of faith - it is not because of someone else, but rather our own choice.

May we strive to experience Jesus 'firsthand' during this season of Lent. It is only an encounter with the risen Lord that will truly transform us all.

John 4:42 - "They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Living in Grace

D3LM3