Successful Forwarder

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²⁸ The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, ²⁹ Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

John 4: 28-29

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That morning was bright and sunny. Jesus and His disciples had walked several miles teaching and healing. The feeling of meeting people’s needs was gratifying but also tiring. The vibrant afternoon sun rewarded everyone with warm rivulets of sweat that cascaded lazily down their foreheads and bodies. The strength-sapping heat continued as if the sun would shine brightly into the late afternoon.

Jesus had walked all morning. He had taught, His disciples had explained. He had healed, and His disciples had healed too. They had walked and walked. When they got to Sychar, He was tired. The sun radiated overbearing waves of heat. So He sat by the well while His disciples headed off to town to buy victuals.

Jesus was God. He could have called forth water from the well, but He did not. He could have commanded stones to become bread, but He didn’t (Matthew 4:4). He also refused to secretly inject Himself with some eternal youth elixir not to be tired. He would not use any powers not available to man. If He made it without getting contaminated with sin, then we would have no excuse – for, with God, all righteousness is possible! So Jesus sat there and counted His thoughts, carefully looking them over to identify which strategy would be most helpful in His subsequent encounter with people. Jesus was so fixated on saving people from sin that nothing else mattered.

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Presently, a slim brunette nimbled up to the well and lowered her jar into the calm, clear waters of the ancient well. She drew it up with strong hands and turned to go. Jesus stretched out an arm that almost touched her and calmly said, “Kindly let me drink some of your water.”

Of course, you know that Jews at that time wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans. Samaritans are the rejected results of the union between Jews left behind after the Assyrian invasion of 721BC and the gentiles[1]. Among other things, the Samaritans attempted to worship God in their own way. The Jews rejected this attempt as heresy, which messed up the relationship between Jews and them[2]. At this time, Jews did not eat food nor drink water from Samaria unless it was absolutely indispensable[3]. Now let’s come back to our story. So the woman asked Jesus, 

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“How come you, a Jew, is asking me, a Samaritan woman (here in Samaria), for water?” 

As for the woman, she was bantering away on a hot afternoon. But keep in mind that for Jesus, this was an opportunity to win a soul. Jesus soon had her attention and interest riveted when He assured her that He could provide endless, everlasting water. When she brought up the issue of worship, and Jesus’ answer blew her mind. She wanted more of that knowledge that Jesus had to share. Then Jesus dug deeper – into her private life. He desired to change her life, and she seemed willing to recognize her need for a Saviour! 

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“Go bring your husband.”

“I have none.” She tried to be evasive. But the One who sees everything pried deeper[4].

“You’re right. You have had five so far. Even the One with you now is not your husband.” 

With a trembling heart, she realized this was not an ordinary man. After a few more exchanges, this lady desired what Jesus had to offer. She got her invite. And what did this Samaritan woman do? She forwarded it!

In a matter of moments, the whole town of Sychar was holding preliminary meetings with Jesus at Jacob’s well. They invited him to spend two more days – to give them more invites!

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An illiterate and immoral woman shared her invite immediately.

Recently, in a little town in Africa, several people accepted Jesus but could not find someone to baptize them. As a result, more than half returned to their pursuits by the time someone came. Great is the pain in my heart as I share this with you. Lord have mercy on us. We are receiving God’s bounties but not sharing His invitation. How come you know Jesus but cannot see the need to forward His invitation to an everlasting joyful life? How come it’s easy to forward jokes but not eternal life? The only way to succeed in sharing and forwarding God’s invitation is to become a broken record, endlessly forwarding that invite of Jesus.  What do you say? 

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[1] Samaritans – Wikipedia; Who Were the Samaritans? Their Meaning in the Bible (biblestudytools.com)

[2] Who were the Samaritans? | GotQuestions.org

[3] The Desire of Ages — Ellen G. White Writings (egwwritings.org)

[4] The Desire of Ages, by Ellen G. White. Chapter 19: At Jacob’s Well (ellenwhite.info)