A Few Life-changing Moments

A Few Life-Changing Moments

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” . . . She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” John 4:7, 9-10

I saw this story from John 4 embodied in my parents. Growing up in the 1960s, I was confronted with racial stereotypes all around me. My parents, however, raised my siblings and me with the truth that God loves everyone and we were to do the same. It was a gift to learn that at a young age.

In this story from John’s Gospel, God’s love and compassion is focused on one person whom the world had labeled insignificant. Jesus was in Judea and was taking His ministry to Galilee. The quickest route, approximately a three-day journey, was through Samaria. But because of a centuries-old feud between the Jews and the Samaritans, Jews used an alternate route, east across the Jordan River, then north until they were past Samaria where it was safe to recross the Jordan and enter Galilee. But Jesus, rebel that He was in breaking down cultural barriers, traveled directly through Samaria.

At the town of Sychar, Jesus came to Jacob’s well and sat down alone, while His disciples went into the town to buy food. A woman arrived at the well, carrying a large water jar. Her eyes were averted to avoid people’s stares. They knew who she was, this woman who had been married five times and was now living with another man. She knew what it meant to love and receive nothing in return.

Jesus respectfully asked her for a drink of water, but she knew that Jews didn’t talk with Samaritans, especially Samaritan women. She may have thought, What is he really after? Instead, she said, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan, how can you ask me for a drink?”

Get the picture: Jesus . . . a man . . . a Jew . . . in broad daylight . . . in a public place . . . talking to a woman . . . a Samaritan . . . with a bad reputation. This was a scenario Jesus should have walked away from, but Jesus wasn’t your ordinary Jew. To the woman’s surprise, He simply talked to her.

Jesus is all about breaking down barriers between people and helping you—like He eventually did with that Samaritan woman—to become all you are created to be.

Uncommon Key > What cultural barriers do you need to break down in your life? Read the entire story of the woman at the well in John 4:1-30 to see the impact that Jesus’ bold conversation made.