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I was talking to an old friend the other day who I hadn’t seen in a while and as we were catching up on each others lives he mentioned that he had lost someone who he was very close to. His friend was about the same age as him and seemed to be in good shape but he got a call that his close friend had died suddenly and without warning.
As my friend was relating this to me he teared up a little bit and continued that it made him take a long look at his own life. He hadn’t started out with very much but at this point he had some wealth just sitting around in the bank not doing anything at all.
He told me that he decided to give his three kids an early inheritance. They were going to inherit all he had anyway so he figured he would help them out early.
He said all three were hard workers and respectful and good people and had given him nine grandkids but like a lot of folks they had accumulated a lot of debt. So he went to the bank and had three checks made out in their names that enabled them to pay all their debts off.
My friend told me as he was signing the checks he thought his heart stopped three times and maybe he should call EMS but he made it through okay.
He told me it was a far, far better thing than anything else he had ever, ever done. His kids were shocked and hugged his neck and cried and he said he cried too.
As I thought about all this I thought… what a powerful lesson and as I looked at my friend I thought I saw a dromedary camel just walk through the eye of a needle without either of his sides touching.
The Samaritan woman had not had an easy life. By this point in her life she had already had five husbands. Maybe she was widowed from all five but probably her husbands had given her a bill of divorcement. Either way she had hard times… losing or being rejected by loved ones.
The good news was that at least for a while she had been shiny enough to attract a mate but by this point in her life that shine had faded and she was living with a man and seemingly neither one of them were interested in being married to each other.
Plus she had to walk from the city every day and perhaps several times a day to draw water out of a well and carry it back to her home and cook and care for that man she was living with.
And then as she walked to the well (about noon-time) to get more water her day just got a little worse… a Jew was sitting at the well. Of course she knew the arrogance and condescension of a Jewish man. She prepared herself not to even be acknowledged… not a howdy, not a smile, not even a look of acknowledgment.
And then the Jew spoke… “Give me a drink”. My mother would have said… “what’s the magic word?” Of course not what she expected at all and she asked basically… I thought Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans especially Samaritan women?
Then the Jew said… if you knew who I was you could ask and I would give you “living” water. The Samaritan woman was a little like Nicodemus who took Jesus literally when he was informed that he would need to be born again. She thought he was talking about literal living water. But that’s Jesus always talking with a little mystery.
Ultimately the woman says… okay (Jew) I’ll take some living water.
Then the Jew told her to go get her husband and revealed to her that he knew that she had had 5 husbands and was living now with a man who she was not even married to.
The woman rightfully concluded that (at least minimally) he was a prophet and wanting quickly to be removed from the subject of her marriages changed the subject to the key religious difference between Samaritans and Jews and asked… who is right on the correct place to worship… Samaritans or Jews?
Of course Jesus correctly said the Jews are right and she said I guess we’ll know one day when the Messiah comes (end of discussion) and Jesus said… “I am the Messiah”
Here’s what the woman’s problem was… she didn’t know who Jesus was. She saw a Jew and looked at him through Samaritan colored glasses and Samaritan prejudices. But as she slowly and steadily came to know who she was talking to she could finally see the Jew as Jesus the Messiah.
We have the same problem today. Many think they know who Jesus is because they may have heard a few things about him and yet… never truly experienced him.
I was talking to someone the other day who was brought up in a religious household and has pretty strong opinions about Jesus and Christianity but admitted to me that they had never read the Bible.
Let me suggest this if you haven’t read and understood the Bible than you can’t know Jesus… you’re just like that Samaritan woman who could barely see past the end of her nose (spiritually).
The first step to receiving living water is understanding our unworthiness. The second step is having faith in Jesus.
Julie and I just got back from attending our 50th High School reunion.
When I was a junior I noticed a guy sitting in the back of class who didn’t seem to have any friends and I guess we’ve probably all been in that circumstance before so after class I introduced myself to him and started sitting next to him in class.
I soon found out why Albert didn’t have many friends… he kind of had a negative outlook on life in general but I ignored that and Albert and I became friends. Not the kind of friends who hung out or did things after school because by that time I was dating Julie… just school friends.
After we graduated from High School Julie and I got married and went to Texas A&M and Albert went to Texas A&M as well and joined the Corps of Cadets. I would see Albert on campus every once in a while but it seemed to me that he didn’t really care to have me as a friend anymore. After all he was in the Corps now and making new friends. I understood that but still it kind of bothered me and I never forgot that.
Fast forward 50 years and Julie and I celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. I happened to look in the Wedding book Julie compiled and looked at the gift section and there was Albert’s name… he had given us a $10 gift certificate to a local department store. I had forgotten that. Keep in mind… Julie and I eloped and we didn’t get as many gifts as some. We didn’t start out with much (I'm not complaining) but it was enough
h.
As our 50th class reunion approached and people were sharing emails and such I got an email from Albert asking if we would be there. Last night at the gathering I saw Albert and his wife come in and Julie and I met her and we started visiting. Albert’s wife said kind of a curious thing to me… “Albert talks about you all the time”. I didn’t think much of it and thought it was just kind of a polite thing that people say.
We sat at the same table together and Albert and I exchanged cell phone numbers and had our picture made together and as we were saying our good byes Albert’s wife looked at me and said again… “I mean it… Albert talks about you all the time”.
I don’t really know what to think about that except that some 51 years ago i saw a guy that didn’t seem to fit in with everyone else and decided to do something about it.
What a small thing that seemed to be at the time but how huge that small investment turned out to be for both Albert and myself.
I don’t know about you but I don’t think it takes glasses to see that God’s hand was in that.
How great is his Kingdom!
During that short spell when we weren’t assembling because of COVID I found out I could get a lot done and getting things done is my love language. I didn’t have to prep for an assembly. I could be outside doing what I do then come in for about an hour and watch services on line, take our Lord’s supper and then go on doing the things that I do.
I could even watch on line services at any time of the day. How convenient and how easy and how much more productive I was doing my Rob-things.
I could still do that because we still have on line services.
In our Veterinary business I’ll see a client who is really attached to a pet and ask them if someone offered them $10,000 for their pet would they take it? Of course they wouldn’t and neither would I.
And you couldn’t pay me $10,000 to stay at home and watch church services on line either.
You see I missed my fellow members,the smiling happy faces, the kids playing in the courtyard, lifting up of our voices in song, the prayers… all the things we do TOGETHER!
Imagine if you were in Heaven living in one of the many mansions and you were flipping channels on your heavenly TV trying to find the channel with Jehovah on his throne instead of being with Jehovah?
Here’s the facts I wouldn’t take a million dollars for one of our pets or take a million dollars (from Satan) to miss services. There… I said it.
What would happen if you saw a handicapped person hobbling around and you criticized them for being too slow or getting in your way and you talked bad about them yelled at them? That wouldn’t seem right would it?
What about folks who have behaviors that are annoying like those with quick tempers or who have the habit of blaming others for their own mistakes or laziness or complainers, etc.?
I tend to think of folks with behavior issues as also being handicapped.
Maybe life has handicapped them emotionally and they are a product of their experiences. Maybe they can’t help themselves for their behaviors and it won’t do a bit of good if we call them names (morons, idiots, etc.) or even think of them in terms like that.
Here’s the thing… we may not be able to heal the physically handicapped but God’s word can do wonders for the emotionally crippled of the world. That healing process begins with his doctor/soldiers having the right attitude.
Even if the emotionally handicapped can’t be healed... can we blame them and treat them poorly for a handicap?
Galatians 6:1, “Brothers. If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness…”
So the question is what is meant by a “spirit of gentleness”?
A spirit of gentleness might describe Priscilla and Aquilla’s action of correcting the teaching of Apollos (Acts 18:26). They took Apollos to the side and explained.
One example closer to the context of Galatians was by the writer himself.
Paul upon seeing the Apostle Peter’s sinful conduct didn’t waste any time and “opposed him to his face”… not just explained as in the case of Apollos. Paul addressed his fellow Apostle in a public fashion before all... not in a private fashion as was done with Apollos. (Galatians 2:11-14)
So this thing about “restoring in a spirit of gentleness” is a truism and generally what we should do. However circumstances might modify our action of restoration.
For instance was this the first occurrence of a sin or the one hundredth?
In such cases gentleness would be the aroma for the first effort but somewhere along the way sterner stuff is going to be required or our efforts are going to have the stench of futility.
