Hostile

I have left a wake of sin and brokenness behind me as a single woman. I am not proud of it, and have occasionally gone to great lengths to evade the shameful  memories, even moving across the country to escape the reminders.

But without repentance, there can never be freedom, no matter your geography or plane ticket price.

The woman at the well also wanted to cut right to the rewards, and thus the redemption. She says to Jesus in John 4:15, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus takes this exact opportunity to move past wordplay and rhetoric, piercing straight to her raw and hurting heart.  He responds, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” she replies.

Jesus says to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is true.”

What a painful moment this must have been for her. I can see her eyes lowering in humiliation as she fiercely struggles against the overwhelming desire to run away and hide from this public exposure of her deepest and darkest shame.

But I imagine Jesus smiling at this, knowing what she does not, that He has not come to condemn the world, but to save it. That’s the beauty of grace.

He has traveled far into a hot and dusty wilderness to meet her on her terms, so that He could teach her His. He will speak tenderly to her, reassuring her that He knows her exact situation, failures, disappointments, and needs.

However, with this amazing grace comes truth. Jesus always speaks truth and shows us our sin. He did not condemn her, but He did not excuse her either. He got to the heart of the matter, saying, in essence, “I know your life. I know you’re a sinner. Now let’s go from here.”

The woman responds, “I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called the Christ; and when He arrives, He will tell us everything we need to know and make it clear to us.”

Loosely paraphrased, it might have sounded something more like this:

I’ve been waiting my whole life to feel whole, for this Great Love to find me. I’ve searched endlessly for that one perfect piece to the puzzle that would put an end to this bitter emptiness. I’ve tried to fill it with so many things, all with disastrous results.

They say He is called Christ, and when He comes, we won’t wonder anymore, nor search in vain. I need to tell Him that I’m sorry, that I deeply regret my sinful life. He is the One who will be everything I’ve ever hoped for and more. Are you… Him?

Then, in Verse 26, Jesus looks into the face of his precious broken child, and says: “I who speak to you am He.”

Some of us have led very sinful lives, walking very dark paths that have brought us to the here and now, just like the woman at the well. There is pain and deep shame in our hearts, believing we have little to offer to the true and mighty God.

Dear reader, know and be comforted in this: Jesus has traveled our hostile lands, climbed our jagged walls, and traversed the punishing deserts of our hearts. Against all expectation and with no hesitation, He will find us and meet us right where we’re at.

He is ready and willing to fill your empty hearts, end your fruitless searching, and remove your sin as far as the east is from the west! All you have to do is ask.

“I who speak to you am He.”

That’s Great Love.