“So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? John 4:28-29
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the encounter that Jesus has with the Samaritan woman at the well in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel. Jesus meets this woman in the middle of the day who seems to clearly be trying to avoid other people. In those days, it would have been unthinkable for a Jewish man to speak to a Samaritan woman, and yet Jesus calls out to her and they begin to talk about her life and who he is. The woman is amazed at Jesus so she immediately goes back to town and tells everyone that she has encountered the Messiah, and she knows this because he told her everything about her life.
The Bible tells us that many people believed Jesus was the Messiah simply because she told them her story about her experience with Christ, but it also says that they began to talk with Jesus for themselves. They told her, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.” Her willingness to share her story ended up transforming the entire town.
Sometimes it can seem intimidating to share our story with others because it requires us to be vulnerable. There can be parts of our stories that we don’t necessarily want to always share with others. However, when we are willing to tell the story of our experiences with Christ we never know how it might lead others to experience their own encounters with Christ. It is certainly a risk worth taking when we consider the possible ripple effects of transformed communities like what happened in that Samaritan town!
Today, I hope you’ll take a moment to consider what your own story is of your personal experience with Christ. Then, I hope you will look for the opportunities to share that with others just like the Samaritan woman. I believe when we all do that, the impact on our world will be a huge transformation.
Rev. Josh Attaway, Edmond Campus Pastor
