Enounters with Jesus change us - and people notice (John 4:28-30)

Scriptural reading:
(28) Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, (29)“Come, see a man who told me everything that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (30) They came out of the town and made their way before him.


Observations:
The two key things which we can observe from these passages are as follows:

(1) Encounters with Jesus change us.

I find it highly unlikely that the woman described in this passage has ever had a greater life changing event than her encounter with Jesus.

She went to the well that day a broken woman, so ashamed (she was a prostitute, had five husbands, and was sleeping with a man who was not her husband) that she went to the well by herself in the middle of what we can only presume was a stinking hot day just to avoid any form of uncomfortable confrontation.

But she did not leave that way.

Her encounter with Jesus changed everything, a fact which is clearly evident in the immediate changes in her demeanor, actions and behavior.

No more tiptoeing out to the well by herself to avoid confrontation. No. Gone were her fear and shame as she was absolutely and completely overcome by a whole-hearted conviction to share the experience with other Samaritans.

Encounters with Jesus change lives, and it is just not possible to have a genuine encounter with Jesus for the first time and not be impacted.


(2) Others notice the changes.

Under no circumstances should the changes referred to above represent mere internalized changes which go unnoticed by others.

No, they are profound, and compel others to take notice.

Prior to her encounter with Jesus, it is pretty clear that the Samaritans did not think much of the woman and it is highly likely that they would not have given here the time of day.

Not so after the encounter, where they left immediately in the middle of a stinking hot day to go and see what she was talking about.

What changed? One could imagine that they would have been a long way from certain as to whether or not she had seen the messiah.

But they sense that something about her had changed, and that she had most certainly seen something very significant. No longer could she be brushed off, she now had to be taken seriously.

That’s what I think happens when we ourselves have an encounter with Jesus. The response of others may not always be positive, but they do sit up and take notice.


Prayer:
Lord,

We cannot help but be changed upon the experience of our first encounter with you.

You are what we have been searching for all our lives. You, and only you, are our salvation. You, and only you are have everything we need.

You are so powerful that we just cannot avoid being changed by such encounters.

And lord, let the changes within us not remain solely in us. Rather, lord, let us shimmer like stars with your love, and let us be beacons of the light so that others can see your greatness and power.

In your great name I pray.

Amen.