Monday meditation: He patiently sees and understands and satisfies
John 4 offers a model for one-on-evangelism and another dramatic assertion by Jesus that he is the Son of God. But that’s not all. Perhaps surprisingly, it also gives a picture of Jesus that can encourage caregivers in their struggle to thrive. Here we can see six different aspects of Jesus’ character and concern especially meaningful for caregivers.
Jesus ignores cultural and human boundaries. “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (v. 9).
Jews avoided Samaria, and Jewish men of that time did not engage women in long, spiritual discussions. When we see Jesus talking at length with this Samaritan woman, we can believe he wants to engage with the person in our life whose disability has pushed him or her to the fringes of society.
Jesus is patient when some just don’t understand. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Jesus did not condemn this woman for not grasping all the truth; he simply led her to see the whole picture. Likewise, neither will he reject us, even if we wearily ask why God has allowed our trial.
Jesus knows everything about us. “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did” (v. 29).
With the Samaritan we can be certain every moment of our lives is noticed by him. Many details of the care we offer are impossible or inappropriate to share outside our house. But Jesus sees. He’ll never ignore our sacrifices or losses or suffering.
Jesus gives satisfaction unlike anything or anyone else. “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.”
Never! He offers to fulfill every longing, supply every need, and remedy every emptiness. This means what we’ve lost by giving care can be refilled to overflowing.
Jesus cuts through religious ritual to seek worship from our hearts. “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
When we quit arguing and just bow to him as Lord, we can know peace.
Jesus attracts those who stop to listen to him. “We have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
We’re so busy as caregivers, we may feel we don’t have time to study longer. We may want to believe we already know everything there is to learn about him. But if we’ll stop and see and listen, we’ll discover over and over again how to have him closer.
Read: John 4:1-42
Pray: What peace it brings us, Lord, just to imagine Jesus offering himself to us as he did this Samaritan woman. Give us strength and courage as we seek him every day this week.
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