The story of the woman at the well is one that I have heard for years. John 4:1-40 tell the story. Jesus was in Judah. The pharisees were getting disgruntled so he told his disciples it was time to leave and that they would be going to Galilee. Now to get to Galilee from Judah one has to pass through the town of Samaria, and who lives in Samaria? Samaritans. In all the years of listening to this story no one ever really explained why the Samaritans were so awful so I decided to find out. My research took me back to 900 BC. Solomon was dying and his son Rehoboam was going to become
the king. Two of the Twelve tribes of Israel were thrilled to see him become king, but Ten of the tribes, the tribes to the North wanted nothing to do with him and decided that they would choose their own king. In Judea (the 2 southern tribes) Jerusalem was the capital city as well as the city where the temple was located. In Israel (the 10 northern tribes) Samaria was the capital and the city where they worshiped. Now fast forward about 200 years and we see the Big bad Assyrians trying and doing quite well at conquering much of the known world. Next on their list of victims was Israel (10 northern tribes). Sadly Israel didn't fair well and the Assyrians quickly took control. Most of the people of Israel were scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, but some were left to try to survive in their homeland. It was not easy for them for once the Assyrians conquered a land they sent many of their faithful subjects to live there. Soon the Assyrians living in Samaria married the Jews who were living there. Zoom 500 years later and Jesus and his disciples come to Jacob's well located in Samaria. Jesus is hot and tired and tells his disciples to go on ahead to get some food and bring it back to the well. While Jesus is sitting there a woman comes to fetch water. Ding, Ding. I found another important point here. Women went to the well early in the morning before their families were awake for two reasons, 1 it was the coolest part of the day and 2 they would have water to prepare breakfast and complete chores through the day. Another thing that I learned is that the women would go to the well in groups as it was much safer. Here in this story we find this Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day alone. So the story continues and Jesus asks the woman for a drink. The woman is shocked that Jesus spoke to her. A man would not speak to a woman he didn't know and and a Jewish man would never speak to any Samaritan and Jesus didn't just say hello, he asked for a drink. Meaning he would touch something of hers and ingest water that she had drawn. This was simply unheard-of! Jesus continues to speak to her telling her that if she had any idea who He was she would ask him for a drink instead, and that the water He would give would be Living Water. If she drank His water she would never thirst again. My sunday school teachers always spent most of there teaching time on this aspect of the story. They were correct that it is very important, but I think they missed out on so many lessons. After Jesus talks about the Living Water he tells the woman to get her husband. The conversation continues and Jesus tells her that he knows that she has been married 5 times and that she is currently living with a man to whom she is not married. The woman is amazed at what he knows about her and starts to realize that he is the Messiah that she has been waiting for. I have to wonder why Jesus let her know that he knew all about her past. Was it so that she would see Him perform a miracle or was there more to it? Was he letting her know that not only did he know she was a Samaritan woman, but he knew all about her. He knew why she didn't come to the well with the other women, why she felt she had to come alone. Jesus knew who she was and what she was and still offered her the Living water. So while I sat amazed at the beautiful way that Jesus chose to show this woman that it didn't matter where she came from or what she had done He still wanted to offer her His gift of Living water I was convicted. There are people who I avoid because the cultural difference make me uncomfortable. REALLY? I am missing out on a chance to share Christ's love with someone because they make me uncomfortable. I know people who have made some choices that I find absolutely reprehensible. Guess what, I'm sure Jesus thought that this woman's actions were pretty reprehensible, but he still loved her enough to share the Living water. And on that note, I'm sure that Jesus has found and continues to find much of what I do reprehensible. We throw around the phrase, Hate the sin Love the sinner, but do we really follow that ideal? Do we, do I love the people who flew our plains into the towers? Do I love the girls at the clinic about to kill their unborn babies? Do I love the people around the world who are persecuting and killing Christians? So much to think about, to pray about. I think it is time I get uncomfortable and share His amazing love.
I like my hairdresser a lot. She is very talented, but I found that I was reticent about mentioning that she was my hairdresser. God did not choose to give me thick hair nor very much of it. I don't know which hairstyles best suit my face and although I take time to fix my hair every morning I rarely look at it through the day. I didn't want to mention my connection with the hairdresser because I wasn't sure my hair would be positive advertisement of her abilities. 
