The Upper Room Devotion for Wednesday April 10, 2024 was written by Kimberly Rice Smith of North Carolina.
Scripture
4 But he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “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.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:4-24 NRSV
Author's Thoughts
I can remember the phone call from my district church leaders like it was yesterday. My house was a disaster with laundry everywhere and dishes to put away. One of my daughters was angry with me and had just hung up the phone abruptly. Even the dog was unhappy with me that day. I was feeling like a failure.
When the district church leaders asked if I would be willing to serve as the regional lay leader for the next four years, my response was, "Are you sure you want me to do this?" In that moment I didn't feel successful at my own life, much less worthy to serve on that level. How powerful it was for me to know that, as messy as I was, they saw God at work in my life! I thought of the woman at the well and how so many would not have wanted her to be the poster child for Christ. Yet, she perfectly represents those of us who follow Christ.
If we want to grow the church and bring hearts to Christ, we need to believe that all hearts are worthy. We need to believe that our own hearts are worthy of sharing the hope of his love with others. One year into my service, I don't try to hide my messy and imperfect life. I openly share it with others. I want others who are struggling to know that they are not alone. We are in this together with Christ.
Thought for the Day
God knows me and loves me anyway.
Author's Prayer
Gracious and loving God, help us to follow where you lead with humility and honesty, so that others will know faith is a journey for us all. Amen.