The road purposefully traveled . . . to you and I

³ So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans)   John 4:3-9

In a few minutes I will be hitting the road to drive back home to Maryland from North Carolina.  Now to get home I can take several routes.  I can go up Interstate 81, or I could take Interstate 85 to Highway 29, or I could take Interstate 85 to Interstae 95.  Indeed the most out of the way path is the last, 85 to 95 as it takes me through Washington, DC, adding about 1.5 hours to my trip, and also taking me by Richmond, VA and the inevitable traffic!  So, most likely that is NOT the way I will be going.

Unless I HAD to go through Richmond. . . .

John notes that Jesus had to go through Samaria.  This is odd, especially since Jesus was a Jew and the Jews and the Samaratians . . . well they just did not mix at all.  The Jews would go elaborate paths to avoid coming into any contact with a Samaratian, much less a woman.  The Samaratians were "half-breeds" of the Jews and each side despised the other.  In fact if you read the whole story of this meeting (which I encourage you to do - John 4:3-42) you will see that there were some basic beliefs that they each disagreed on, although you will also see that they shared ancestry.  All that said, however, the passage says that Jesus HAD to go through Samaria.

I want to ask why?  I can imagine all sorts of reasons but only one seems to really make sense . . . he had an appointment with the Samaratian woman and her village.  Jesus HAD to go through Samaria because they HAD to have the opportunity to meet and know the Christ.  They had to know that God did not consider them an outcast.  They had to know that God's kingdom was larger than the Jews, . . . that they were included in mix.  They had to know that they were primary too in His call to save.

The beautiful and actually AWESOME understanding that I LOVE is that they were not seeking Him, He sought them out.  I loved that He sought them out where they were.  I loved that He came to meet them without asking of them to change or prepare before hand for Him.  He went to them. 

Like He comes to us. . . .

See Christ calls us to Him.  He comes to us in our screw-ups and our believed self-agrandisement (big word for our unjustified pride in ourselves).  He seeks us out where we are living to let us know that He knows all about us and yet, . . . He still is there to love us.  IF we will let Him.  His love is greater than the expressions of it around us.  It is greater than our traditions and beliefs.  It is greater than how we package it to be. 

Okay, I know I may have stepped way out there for a moment.  What I am trying to get at is that God is not limited in His expression of love to us.  He does not have to come the way we think He does, or where and when we think He must.  He comes to us in His way, where He wants to, and when He wants to.  he seeks us out.

I always thought that this story was SO cool when I was growing up, until a litterally met a man who told me of my dreams, my past and my future desires . . . all from just looking at a letter I was writing and a tree I drew.  It scared the crap out of me.  Not because he was wrong, but because he was right and because immediately I was concerned as to what was he going to do with what he knew!  Who would he tell!  Would he help me or hinder me?  Did he care about me?  In short did he love me in spite of what he knew about me?

Christ stands in such a way with each of us.  He seeks us out, knows us and loves us . . . just as we are.
He has already proven that (remember the cross, grave and ressurection?), and wishes to ensure that we experience such love in and through Him.  He has taken a path, purposefully directly to us.

Today is the day for our salvation.  He is here now.  He knows us and loves us as we are, right now.
Will we accept him?

If you are thinking that I am just talking about your eternal salvation you are wrong.  I am talking about every area of your life where He is not.  He is there.  Welcome Him in.

Got it?

Got Word?

Love yah,