4TH MARCH
John 4:5-8
“So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)”
Missional encounters happen in the course of everyday life!
Today’s reading begins a series of devotionals looking at Jesus’ life-changing encounter with the woman at the well, who had her life transformed when she put her faith in Jesus and led many in her town to faith as well.
Don’t miss the massive missional lesson here in these verses that introduce the story. Jesus is not on his way to Samaria on an evangelistic mission. He hasn’t been planning this as a ministry event. The disciples aren’t even present to observe and learn from Jesus’ encounter with the woman. This is no carefully designed gospel encounter.
Jesus is there because he’s tired. He didn’t go to the well to ‘do evangelism’. The conversation just came up. Does “Give me a drink” sound like a planned gospel intro to you? Of course not! It sounds like a thirsty man asking for a drink.
If you want to begin living a missional lifestyle, then like Jesus you must keep your missional antennae up! Anytime, anywhere, a conversation could become missional. Evangelism is not just something you organise; it’s a way of life!
MAKE IT PERSONAL:
Make it a point today to strike up a conversation with the person ‘giving you a drink’ —your barista making you a coffee, a waiter at a café, perhaps the person behind the counter at your local servo. Take some time now to ask God to help you with your conversational skills today.