Being Known By God
John 4:27-42
Do you go around telling people that you believe in Jesus?
Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “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.” - John 4:27-42
It is not something we do regularly, is it?
Why is that? Do we not want to impose our views on others? Do we want to keep them from knowing the truth about Jesus?
Those are two completely different questions, aren’t they?
One values the truth and wants to share it, while the other sees it as an imposition. Is it disrespectful to introduce someone to Christ?
When we were introduced to the woman at the well, did you get the impression that she was not well-respected God knows every hair on our heads and in her community?
She came to the well alone in the middle of the day, when it is hottest, when no one would be around. She revealed truths about her life that could have made her an outcast, and yet, she went and told the townfolk all about her encounter with the man.
And look at how she introduced the idea that he may be someone special.
“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”
She did not claim that he was the Messiah. She asked them what they thought. They then wentJesus came to see for themselves.
That is a clever woman.
She focused on what Jesus said about her, not what he said about the Kingdom of God or where one could worship.
Her testimony was about her experiences. He knew her.
I think we understate the importance of being known by God. We’ve been told that knows every hair on our heads and that he knew us in the womb, but do we grasp what that means?
Jesus came to show us God in a way we had never beieved we could see Him. He is a personal, loving God. He knows us fully.
Just think of how vulnerable we are when someone knows us that well, that deeply.
Imagine going out today and telling someone, “Guess what? I met Jesus and he knows everything about me. He told me my whole life story.”
Of course, people would think we were crazy, but maybe that’s what we need today, a little craziness in our lives.
We are so stressed out and wrapped up in messiness that we miss the overwhelming power of God’s love in our lives.
He knows us and is with us always.
It makes me want to go out and take a walk with Him, and maybe introduce Him to someone I meet.
More to come...