Daily Reading 12

"He knows me inside and out." - John 4:29

These words are talking about Jesus. The person who is saying them is not at all favorable in the opinion of many people... even some of Jesus' closest followers. If you think about who the woman is, she might remind you of some people that you have opinions about. She came from a place called Samaria. In this town lived a mixed race of Jews and Assyrians. Traditional Jews thought that the intermarriage meant betrayal. This woman was one of them. In the 9th verse of John chapter 4, the woman points this out to Jesus after he had asked her politely for a drink. "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman," she says.

Besides being Samaritan, was in a public place which meant that Jesus should not be seen talking to her as a Jewish man. She was also known by all who knew her to be living in sin. Jesus told her everything about herself. Things that he shouldn't have known because he had never met or talked about her with anyone. But this was God in front of her. She had no idea to whom she was talking.

Then he started to tell her about living water. He was explaining the condition of our souls. Just like our bodies need food and water, our souls need to be filled with the good news that Jesus loves us and accepts us, even while we are still in the middle of our sin. When we drink this water, it lasts forever. His forgiveness just has to be accepted.

Doesn't that tell you something about Jesus, that he was spending time with this woman who needed to hear about his grace? He wasn't just surrounding himself with religious people. He loved everyone. He came for ALL of us to know. Do you know what this woman's response was? She ran to the village, knowing that everyone already knew about her past, and she told them about Jesus' acceptance of her. When they heard this good news, they ran out to meet him themselves. He then stayed there for two days, sharing his message of love and grace and salvation with many more.

I know for a fact that Jesus wants everyone to know about this good news. Do you know that he loves and accepts you?