Dave's Diary

Prayer

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 27:1 & 7

Lord, You are my light and my salvation:
Be merciful to me and answer me.
as I seek Your face
in Your Holy Word..
Amen.

Reading

John 4:1-18

When Jesus called four fishermen to be His disciples, He told them that He would teach them to “fish for people”. Well, in this interaction with the woman at the well in Samaria, Jesus was the one gently “reeling her in” towards a relationship with Himself, through a gracious yet honest conversation.

All the social conventions of the day militated against Jesus even talking to this woman. Firstly, because she was a woman, and it was socially taboo for a rabbi to speak to any woman who was not his wife in public. Secondly, because she was a Samaritan, and the animosity between Jews and Samaritans meant that any faithful Jew would avoid all interactions with Samaritans. Yet here Jesus had chosen to travel through Samaria and to position Himself in a very public space where interaction with locals was almost unavoidable. He was, in actual fact, seeking out an encounter with a Samaritan. And, from His subsequent conversation with the woman, it becomes clear that Jesus had a “divine appointment” with this specific individual.

In the first phase of this conversation Jesus explained to the woman that He had “living water” that would become in her a spring of water welling up to eternal life. This woman had spent her life trying to fill an aching thirst in her heart. She thought relationships with men could satisfy her longing. But, as is true for all of us, that specific longing can only be satisfied by a relationship with God. Her spiritual thirst could not be satisfied by any human relationship, but only by God Himself. And Jesus was right there in front of her, offering her that relationship.

In the moment she indicated her interest, saying, ‘Sir, give me this water‘, Jesus politely confronted the main obstacle – her sinful relationship. ‘Go, call your husband and come back’, He said.

With this one command, and the interaction that followed, Jesus opened the door for her to make a choice. Her sinful sexual relationship with a man who was not her husband needed to be brought into the light and dealt with, or she could never find the true life in relationship with God for which she was thirsting.

So, the command we are confronted with today is this: Bring your sin into the light of Jesus’ presence and allow Him to deal with it. Does that feel familiar? Well, it should if you read Monday’s devotion. In John’s Gospel, the truth of Jesus’ direct teachings is often shortly thereafter demonstrated in His interactions with people. In this case, through His surprising interaction with a Samaritan woman, Jesus demonstrates the power and importance of what we were taught in John 1, where we were called to admit our wrongdoings to ourselves and to Him, in order to receive His forgiveness and His saving grace.

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ:

• I will live in honesty with myself and with Jesus about my sin.
• I will admit my wrongdoings to myself and to Him.
• I will receive His forgiveness and drink deeply of the living water of my restored relationship with God.

Holy Spirit, help me to stay honest with Jesus and to bring my darkness into His light. Amen.