When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”– John 4:7
It’s noon and the sun is high in the sky. Jesus has been on His feet for hours already and He’s tired. He takes a moment to rest at the well and waits.
A few minutes later, a Samaritan woman appears. Jesus asks her for a drink and she’s shocked. She’s used to most Jews looking down on her. When she confesses that she doesn’t have a husband, she waits again for rejection.
But it never comes.
There’s only grace.
As they continue to talk, she says, “I know the Messiah is coming.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” (John 4:26)
Of all the people He could have revealed His true identity to, Jesus chose a lowly Samaritan woman. Of all the tasks that Jesus could have been doing, He made time for a conversation with a lonely woman.
We live in a world that is driven by the next task, the next goal, the next accomplishment, the next thing on our list. While it’s right and good to accomplish a task, especially when God commands it, tasks should never replace the importance of people. Being a disciple of Christ means that sometimes we have to put down the to-do list and serve those in front of us.
Maybe that means pausing your grocery shopping long enough to offer help to someone in a wheelchair. Perhaps taking a meal and visiting with a sick friend. Picking up the phone and calling someone instead of sending a text. It could also mean listening to your pre-teen share her latest drama, even though there are 30 emails awaiting your response.
At the end of the day what matters most is what we pour into people. The bottom line is people matter, they are the most important thing.
Father, help me to be focused on loving and serving those around me. I confess sometimes I get wrapped up in my lists. Please put someone in my path this week that I could slow down and love on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
