One of my favorite stories in the bible is the passage where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the watering well and asks her for a drink. He was a Jew and therefore, presumably above speaking to her, much less asking anything of her, but He did. I read this passage and believe that Jesus allowed her to sense her worth in some small way -- that He awarded her the dignity of knowing that she had something of value to Him. I'm not talking about vain flattery, and it didn't take much. He was parched and His flesh needed a drink. She had a watering can and He didn't.
And look what happened next -- He had her ear. She listened to Him, and she learned from Him. She trusted Him with her humiliation, and He told her who He was. She believed Him; and isn't that what it's all about?
Surely I won't be sharing any deep, dark secret when I confess that I've never met a higher concentration of prideful, arrogant, unwittingly deceitful, didactic, patronizing and condescending people as I have since I became a Christian. Not all Christians of course, but it doen't take many to make an impact does it? Maybe they are the "tares" amongst the wheat? Maybe they're not yet mature in their faith? And yes, I went through a phase in my growth during which I, too, was that person I just described. I hope I am not now. I pray I'm too busy digging that plank out of my own eye to have time to worry about the splinter in another's.
I can't say why others behave in such ways, but I think I know at least one reason why I did. I thought being the mentor was an unspoken measure of spiritual success, and who doesn't want to be successful? I've come to the sad conclusion that the same motivation sometimes drives the saved as the unsaved -- an inherent desire for regard...fame. Fame on the screen, or fame in the church...it all stems from the same selfishness and pride of life.
So, I think about the woman at the well who was drawn to Christ, responded so well and learned so much because of the way Jesus spoke to her, and I remember some of my most memorable learning moments with others. The ones that stick -- the profound ones -- are those that follow that pattern. It's called encouragement, and I don't think you can have a successful discipleship without it.
4 comments:
You are so right. I hope that we as the "chosen" don't get arrogant and forget about others. It is our responsible to share the gospel with the unsaved, and plant the seeds, and let God do the rest. We are also to encourage our sisters in the Lord. I pray that I am not one of those that is too busy to be of any value to anyone but myself. I pray that I can "glorify God" in evertything I do. I know I fail at times, but God is so faithful to forgive us and gives us the strength to go on. You are an encouragement to me. Thanks for your honest posts.
I love that passage and your post on it was great!
Hey Grafted - I actually have a lot to say about this and am writing a correlating article - when it's done, I'll post it. It's good, don't worry - it's not a difference of opinion...just my rambling wandering thoughts regarding it all.
It's an easy pit to fall into, isn't it? A lot easier to fall into it than it is to realize where you've landed and figure out how to crawl out of it.
I'm catching up on your posts today in sort of reverse order so I read the one where you said this went over like a lead balloon and then came here to read this one.
I wonder if that's because it hit some people a little too close for comfort. It certainly made me think. All of us who read what you've said here can take something good from in and feel encouraged that if this describes us in even the slightest way, we've been called on it and take a good close look inward.
For making me take closer look at myself, I thank you.
Post a Comment