Grace For The Journey

  Did you know that God knows EVERYTHING about you – every secret you would not want to share with anybody – and yet He still loves you UNCONDITIONALLY?  Now that is something worth knowing!

The Bible teaches this truth in John 4 where it says in verses 15-18,

“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draws.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come here.’  The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Youhave well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

This is John’s account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.

It is one of the most beautiful pictures

Of God’s grace in all of sacred Scripture.

Here is a woman scorned by everyone who knew her.  She would not come to the well when all the other women were there because of their disdain and her shame.  She came at the hottest time of the day, hoping to see no one while she drew her water.  She had no idea that she was right on time for her divine appointment with Jesus, who was waiting to shower His grace upon her shame-filled life.

The Bible goes on to say in John 4:25-26, “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that messiah is coming (who is called Christ).  When He is come, He will tell us all things.’  Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”

John 4:29 tells us that the woman ran back to town, completely forgetting her water jar, running right into the midst of all those she had been so careful to avoid, and told them all, “Come, see a Man, who told me all things that I ever die.  Could this be the Christ?”  John 4:39 reports that this Samaritan woman evangelized her town and many came to faith in Jesus because of her testimony!  For the very first time in her life, she was “unashamed and forgiven” as she stood before the Holy One of God.

What was true for this Samaritan woman is true for me and you today.  We are all “unforgiven and ashamed” before God.  Remember, Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking and frequently commented on it (Matthew 9:4, Mark 2:8, Luke 5:22).  Yet we are still loved unconditionally. Jesus knows our every thought, word, deed, and desire, and He still loves us!

This kind of “Almighty awareness” should be a source of tremendous comfort to us.

To be fully known and completely loved is the desire of every heart;

Only in Christ can we find this kind of love.

Jesus was in the habit of showering His love on the lowest in society – outcasts like the Samaritan woman – and it drove the religious establishment absolutely mad.  They could not bring themselves to associate with “sinners,” because they simply could not see the sin in their own lives.

The log in their eyes blinded them to this truth.

So . . . regardless of where this finds you today, whether you are climbing to the summit or crushed under the waves of challenge, the Almighty is aware of every aspect of your life and is absolutely, 100% for you.  And if Jesus is for you, it really doesn’t matter what comes up against you . . . even thoughts of past mistakes!

This is God Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”