22 Days of Reading: Day Four

John 4 and Psalm 119:25–32

Image by Tia Bush, partial cover for Run to the City by Laurie Nave

I’m a few days behind posting each day’s reading due to a virus. But I’m picking back up now with one of my favorite stories, found in John 4: the story of the woman at the well.

John 4

I’ve always loved the story of the woman at the well. I loved it growing up because Jesus crossed racial, cultural, and gender lines to talk to her. He eschewed the racism and hate of his time to pass through a place most Jews avoided. And He did it for her.

As I got older and made my own mistakes and wrong choices, I grew to love the story for a different reason. The first is found in her pronouncement: come see a man who told me everything I ever did (and still loves me). The part in the parenthesis has a deeper meaning when you’ve actually blown it.

The second reason has come to mean a lot to me over the last five years. The fact that even though the whole town knew her past, once she encountered Jesus, she ran back without shame to share what He showed her. No disqualification. No Jesus saying, “yes, I forgive you, but stay out of the limelight. You’ll ruin my reputation.” That last bit is what prompted me to write a book about living for Christ looking forward instead of being mired in the past.