Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to town and said to the people, come see a man who told me everything I did. Could this be the messiah? John 428 29. One day, while the disciples were in town buying nuggets and fries for lunch, Jesus sat down by a well to wait for their return. A woman came to draw water. This in itself is unusual. Women typically went to the well for water much earlier in the day, before it was too warm. As the story unfolds, we discover the reason the woman came at noon. She had a reputation. The circumstances of her personal life aren't made known to us. But for whatever reason, this woman had five failed marriages and was now living with a man with whom she was not married. Because of this, she was either embarrassed to go to the well with the other women from town, or more likely, she was made to feel so judged and unwelcome by the other women that she preferred to go to the well at a time when she could be alone. Jesus engaged the woman in a conversation, asking her if she would give him a drink of water. This, too, is unusual because she was a samaritan, and Jews like Jesus typically had nothing to do with Samaritans, not even to have a friendly conversation with them. But Jesus was not typical, and we ought to learn a lesson from that fact alone. Instead of avoiding people, especially people that most others ignored or judged as tainted and unworthy, Jesus sought them out. And there is another lesson we ought to learn. So there by the well, in the middle of the day, jesus had a conversation with a samaritan woman. Before long, the conversation turned to religion and spiritual matters, and Jesus revealed to her the fact that he was messiah sent from God with eternal life. We know that this woman was convicted by what Jesus said for two reasons. First, when she went back to town, she left her water jar at the well. She would never have done that had she not been distracted by something even more important than her water jar. Second, she went to town and sought out the very people she ordinarily avoided, people who harbored animosity toward her because she wanted to tell them about Jesus. That's what happens when we truly believe. All of the other things in life that seem so important to us fade in comparison to knowing Jesus and telling others about him. So I leave you today with this question and be honest in answering. Are you so committed to Jesus that you would leave your water jar at the well and go off in search of others and hope that they, too, will come to know him?

This has been your thought for the day with Steve Burkham, pastor of Community Christian Church in Stockton, California. If you have questions or comments for Pastor Steve, please send them to dailythoughtspodcastmail.com dot. Have a great day and we hope you'll join us tomorrow as Pastor Steve opens God's word to bring us another thought for the day.