DAY 1 — JESUS CROSSES THE LINE
DAY 1 — JESUS CROSSES THE LINE
Read: John 4:7–9
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”
There were plenty of reasons this conversation shouldn't have happened.
Jesus was Jewish. She was Samaritan.
He was a man. She was a woman.
There were generations of cultural and religious tension between their people. And as the story unfolds, we discover there were things about this woman's life that probably caused others to keep their distance.
But Jesus spoke to her.
It's easy to read right past that. Yet sometimes the most powerful thing Jesus does is simply take the first step.
Jesus wasn't intimidated by the barriers everyone else had accepted. We have barriers too.
Sometimes they're cultural. Sometimes political. Sometimes generational. Sometimes they're created by hurt, disagreement, awkwardness, or assumptions we've made about another person.
And sometimes the barrier is simply convenience.
We tend to gravitate toward people who are like us. People who think like us. People who understand us. People who don't require much effort.
Jesus consistently moved the other direction.
He noticed people others overlooked. He approached people others avoided. He started conversations others wouldn't.
Following Jesus means we can't spend our entire lives safely surrounded by people just like us.
There may be someone God has placed in your life who feels difficult to approach. Maybe you've been waiting for them to make the first move.
What if you did?
You don't need the perfect words.
You don't need to know how the conversation will end.
Sometimes following Jesus simply means being willing to cross the room.
Consider
Who have I unintentionally kept at a distance?
What barrier makes it difficult for me to connect with them?
Today
Take the first step.
Send the text. Introduce yourself. Sit somewhere different. Start the conversation.
You never know what God might do on the other side of one small step.
Read: John 4:7–9
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”
There were plenty of reasons this conversation shouldn't have happened.
Jesus was Jewish. She was Samaritan.
He was a man. She was a woman.
There were generations of cultural and religious tension between their people. And as the story unfolds, we discover there were things about this woman's life that probably caused others to keep their distance.
But Jesus spoke to her.
It's easy to read right past that. Yet sometimes the most powerful thing Jesus does is simply take the first step.
Jesus wasn't intimidated by the barriers everyone else had accepted. We have barriers too.
Sometimes they're cultural. Sometimes political. Sometimes generational. Sometimes they're created by hurt, disagreement, awkwardness, or assumptions we've made about another person.
And sometimes the barrier is simply convenience.
We tend to gravitate toward people who are like us. People who think like us. People who understand us. People who don't require much effort.
Jesus consistently moved the other direction.
He noticed people others overlooked. He approached people others avoided. He started conversations others wouldn't.
Following Jesus means we can't spend our entire lives safely surrounded by people just like us.
There may be someone God has placed in your life who feels difficult to approach. Maybe you've been waiting for them to make the first move.
What if you did?
You don't need the perfect words.
You don't need to know how the conversation will end.
Sometimes following Jesus simply means being willing to cross the room.
Consider
Who have I unintentionally kept at a distance?
What barrier makes it difficult for me to connect with them?
Today
Take the first step.
Send the text. Introduce yourself. Sit somewhere different. Start the conversation.
You never know what God might do on the other side of one small step.
Posted in Daily Devotional