Samaria

 

Good morning friends.

I didn't think I was going to write today.  Read God's Word this morning, and there it was.  Like it always is.

One sentence.  Seven words:

John 4:4, "Now He had to go through Samaria."

Seven is the number of completion in the Bible.  Did you know that?

And (yes, another mind-blowing moment here) that verse is seven words.  Wow.  Mind blown.  Again.

How does Samaria tie into our journey down the road of being single?  Well, let's look at it.

Scripture doesn't say why Jesus had to go through Samaria, just that He "had" to go.  Do you think it's possible He was planning all along to meet the woman at the well?

Scripture tells us the woman at the well already had five previous husbands (keep that number in mind) and she was currently living with man six, who was not her husband.  (Five plus one equals six.)

Then comes man number seven.  Jesus.

The number of completion.  Are you seeing what I am seeing?

Even the verse in Scripture that tells us where Jesus is headed is a number of completion.  Please don't ever think Scripture is not woven together beautifully.  It is God-ordained and perfect.  It is without error.  It is inerrant.

This small and so familiar story is again Jesus and Scripture saying, "You are SEEN.  You matter."

Again, Jesus focuses on a single woman, the least of the least.  So least, she went to get her water from the well when no one else was there.  She was looked down on by society for the number of men she had been with (and still with) over the course of her life up until this time.

Yet, we see our beautiful Savior approach her and single her out.  He is man number seven, and He completes her.

John 4:26, "Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you, I am He."

As a single, life just seems to be harder sometimes.  Like I wrote earlier, sometimes you think about what it must be like to have someone at your side to start and end your days.  You think about those times (such as myself last night) when you are so tired and sick you can barely stand up.  Can you take care of yourself?  Maybe.  But when you are single, you think about these situations and how having that partner in your life would help make life more palatable.

And then there's Jesus.  He comes along, very quietly, when we are in a valley and whispers to our soul, "...I am He."  Man number seven.

How amazing is this story?  A single woman, the least of the least - a person whom society had tossed aside as no good and not worthy - and Jesus goes to Samaria (think back to verse 4 above, "...He had to go to Samaria.") to complete her.

Yesterday, as I was pushing my (now defunct self-propelled) lawn mower up my front yard hill, the temperature was growing closer to 80 and my 57-year old body was growing weak.  I keep thinking to myself, "I can do this.  It's only an hour of hard work and then the front yard will look great and I'll be done."  (Cutting the grass is a great time for pondering thoughts and thinking and - well, as I was about to find out - listening.)

I found myself going up and down that hill, sweating - heart beating stronger - trying to maintain a controlled breathing pattern - taking one step after another and still thinking, "I'm almost done. If Arthur Blessit could carry his cross up those sand dunes and throw that snow storm, I can cut this grass."

As I climbed that hill and continued to work in the front yard, my mind keep wondering back to a current life situation and how I should handle it.  Suddenly, while cutting around and under an older and large apple tree, I heard God say, "You don't worry about (this person), I will handle (this person).  You look at me and focus on me.  Keep taking one step after another where I lead you."

If I'm being honest, I will say that I then had this brief conversation with God at that moment...  "Lord, I'm so sorry.  I just keep forgetting about you.  I am so focused on what I need to say or what I need to do, I just don't think about you."

If the woman at the well were being honest, she forgot about God too - or maybe she just never knew Him (although she did tell Jesus she heard the Christ was coming!)...

I love that the God we serve always takes the time to come to us where we are.  "...He had to go through Samaria."  Jesus is man number seven, and He completes us.  Never forget that.

Jesus SEES US.  We are SEEN.  Seven words.  Completion.

Remember, He is never late and is always on time!