In my last blog we looked at the idea of how we can try and box God in to fit with our expectations, plans and desires. In John 4 we meet a woman who was amazed when Jesus did not act as expected but broke out of rules and convention to meet her at her point of need.
Jews would rather take the long way around rather than go through the Samaritan territory. Jesus did not. Verse 4 tells us ‘He had to pass through Samaria’– not because there was no there way but because Jesus knew in Samaria there was someone with a pressing need.
Jesus knew exactly where she would be and when. The woman came to the well in the middle of the day – not the usual time for getting water which was early morning and in the cool of evening. That she came at this time shows she didn’t want to meet anyone else because she was an outcast from society. Later it verses 17 and 18 it becomes apparent why she was an outcast.
Jesus acted surprisingly by asking the woman for a drink. Normally a Jew would not even talk to Samaritan, let alone a woman! And you can tell she is surprised. Look at her reply in verse 9. But Jesus refused to be boxed in by convention. Jesus drew her into conversation and challenged her to look for the deeper meaning behind his words, verses 13-14.
When Jesus showed He knew all about her, the woman decided he must be a prophet, so she honed in on where and how God should be worshipped, verses 19-20. Again she was trying to limit God and box Him in, thinking He could only be worshipped in a certain way or a certain place.
Jesus declared those who worship God must worship him ‘in spirit and truth,’ verse 24. Some people have the passion and fervor but not the truth. Others have the truth but the hype and fervor are missing. Jesus said both spirit and truth are needed together. Is your worship of God in ‘spirit and truth?’ Or are you like this Samaritan woman trying to box God into an image you have in mind? Too often we try and make God over into our image instead of letting ourselves see and be drawn to the God of Scripture.
Jesus gently led the Samaritan woman till she was ready to accept who He was – the Messiah. God is gracious in His dealings with us. It occurred to me that what we had been trying to do early on after we put our house on the market- was put God in a box. We expected God to act, for the house to be sold quickly and for us to move. But I see now we were not ready. Over the months of waiting, God had a lot of changing of our hearts and attitudes to do before we were ready for the changes He had for us.
Don’t you love the response of the Samaritan woman? Once she knew the truth about Jesus, she didn’t think about her reputation, the fact that she was an outcast of society or anything, except that she needed to share this good news with everyone in her city. Are you as eager to share the truth of this great God who refuses to be boxed in with those in your community?
Bible references taken from the New American Standard Version.
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