At the well

In a hot, dry country, a well which sinks into the earth and delivers fresh water for life is precious. People gathered to a well for community and for sustenance.

Eliezer stood at the well outside of Nahor, asking God for help. When Rebekah came to the well, this trusted servant of Abraham asked for a drink. Her response confirmed that she was the chosen one, the bride of Isaac.

A few years later, Jacob stood at a well wondering aloud why the sheep were being brought in to water in mid-day. It was there he met Rachel, his future bride.

When Moses fled Egypt, he came to a well and watched the daughters of the priest of Midian come to draw water for their flocks. He defended them against other shepherds, not realizing that his future wife was among those daughters.

Jesus came to the well at Sychar in Samaria, tired and thirsty. When a woman approached at mid-day to draw water, he asked for a drink.

Probably you know the story. A revival began in Samaria as a result of an interchange between the divine and a stained lowly woman.

This woman had gone through five husbands and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. She drew water at noon to avoid the morning crowd and its cold shoulder. Even though marital relations had not gone well for her, she had not abandoned male companionship. She obviously enjoyed a man’s presence and was willing to defy convention for one.

Jesus approached her.

Eliezer found a wife for Isaac at a well. Jacob found Rachel at a well. Moses met Zipporah at a well. Brides were sometimes found at a well.

Followers of Jesus are called the bride of Christ. Jesus sought a bride. As the Samaritan woman revealed that she knew of the Messiah, the longed-for bridegroom, Jesus disclosed his true identity: I am he.

Look at the marks this woman had against her. She was a woman, a Samaritan, an adultress. She wasn’t our idea of the bride of Christ. She was stained, lowly, outcast.

The bride of Jesus doesn’t need a clean pedigree or a clean slate. What did Jesus look for in his bride? He wanted one simple thing. He required that his bride would worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

“Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." John 4:14

Chances

I heard about a man who, on his deathbed at 80-some years old, spent four days in a vision of sorts. His family is at loss to explain but this outspoken agnostic, who had energetically rejected all talk of God all his life, spent days alone inside a prison cell with no way out.

The phrase echoed repeatedly: there is no way out.

Until at the end when a new word was heard: there IS a way out. He grabbed hold. The last two days of his life were spent in joyful celebration of a newfound relationship with the great Rescuer, who flung open the prison door of eternity. This man had rebuffed ideas of escape for a lifetime. In the last moment, God gave him yet another chance.

In Jesus’ last week on earth, he confronted the Pharisees many times and he also challenged Judas’ decision to betray him. Why? Not to prove them wrong.

He was giving them yet another chance to recognize God’s hand at work.

I often underestimate God’s grace. God offered escape to Cain before he murdered his brother. “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. (Gen 4:7) Cain got yet another chance.

The prophet Jonah delivered an incredible message of redemption to heathen Nineveh. Jonah described God: I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. (Jonah 4:2) Nineveh got yet another chance.

Me? I can give up on people. How many times do they need to hear? When can I shake the dust off my feet and move on to more fertile ground? For some reason, seventy times seven keeps popping in my head.

Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost. (Luke 19:10) When we truly see ourselves in the prison with no way out, when only our own breath breaks the silence, grace becomes precious. We grab hold with an iron grip. And we don’t give up on those who still have a chance left.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Luke 4:18-19

Sing of spring

My daily chores include feeding 3 horses. (I'd say hungry horses but I think that's redundant...) This morning I was out earlier than usual and stopped for a minute in the spring air to breath in the crispness of promise and listen to the rejoicing of birds. Heaven will be incredible because it will even better than this.

All the analogies of life flow in the spring. There's such promise. Green buds are peeking out, the oranges and yellows of tulips are finally pushing through the drab dusty garden. It gives my soul new strength.

Today, try this. Take five minutes and write down the things of spring you see outside. Or better, go for a short walk and absorb spring. Use all your senses. Listen. Touch. Look. Smell. Notice the new life. Then write down some of what you saw. Make a list - this doesn't have to be fancy. It's for your eyes only. Then see how many of those things remind you of the new life in Jesus. (Don't be too literal!! I know Jesus is not new robin eggs, but think of the new life in there.) Then speak out: tell God how you love his life and his work. Tell him how his work reminds you of something about him. Have a joyous time talking with him.

From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. (Romans 1:20)