The Bible makes me think of a mine -- there's a lot of material at the surface level, but the deeper you dig, the more there is, only this mine is inexhaustible, such that there are treasures greater than we can imagine at every level, and you can spend your life exploring the depths, and there are still greater riches. To read Biblical scholars who have studied individual books in depth is a treat, because they pull out so many riches, bringing them to the treasure for everyone to savor. My friend was texting me the other day about a preacher who spent 12 years preaching through the book of Romans.
The encounter here takes place around the 6th hour, which is noon. And if a woman is coming on her own to the well at noon, it means she's an outcast, because the other women would have come at the break of day, when it was cooler, and they would have helped one another. This woman comes along, in the hottest part of the day, so she doesn't have anyone to help her, and she's isolated, likely due to some stigma that's attached to her.
But this ostracized woman is precisely who Jesus is there to meet.
Isn't that interesting?
Jesus seeks out someone with shame in their life. He isn't afraid of it the same way other people are. He doesn't shrink back. It would've been easy for him to avoid her, but he doesn't. He goes to where she will be and waits for her.
He does the same for you, friends, no matter what is in your past or present - he waits with grace, arms and heart open wide, for he loves you. No matter what.
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