Jesus Can Handle "My Stuff"

I AM WHO I AM #10

I...AM He

John 4:1-42

It was no accident the Samaritan woman came to the well at a different hour than the other women. She was rejected by others because of her lifestyle. We know she previously had five husbands and wasn't married to her most recent conquest. The Bible doesn't give us the details as to how it all came to be but it does give a clear picture that she was a disgraced woman.

Amazingly, Jesus didn't see her as damaged goods nor was He repulsed by all "her stuff," True, He addressed the sin in her life but He didn't write the woman off as hopeless either. He cared enough to break tradition. According to the law and cultural traditions, He should have shunned her because of her race, her reputation, and the man/woman restrictions. He broke through all of that to reach out to her because He saw something in her no one else did.

The Samaritan woman had a thirst deep within her soul which her lascivious lifestyle could not quench. That's what Jesus saw because He said to her, "...but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14 NKJ)." Jesus even boldly revealed to her He was the Messiah. "I who speak to you AM He (John 4:26)."

Lord, as you very well know, my life was soiled like the Samaritan woman's life. I was the lowest of the low. And yet, for whatever reason, You looked beyond "my stuff" and saw my wounded soul hungering for something "my stuff" could never satisfy. Thank You for offering me the "fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." I'm forever grateful. Remind me of where I've come from. Show me others who are thirsting and hungering for more than "their stuff" can offer them. May I point them to the Fountain that will never run dry. In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Personal Application

This is a tough question, especially if I'm honest with my answer, but when I look at other people, do I see "their stuff" and condemn them or do I see thirsty souls in need of Jesus, the Living Water?