GOD'S MOTIVE--LOVE

"And so we know and rely on the love god has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in god, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:16-18)

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a good indication of how Jesus wants his followers to love people--even if we have very little in common with those people. In John 4:1-26 Jesus has an encounter that indicates just how deep our love should flow.

While in a Samaritan town called Sychar, Jesus stopped at a well where a local woman was drawing water. "Will you give me a drink?" he asked her.

The woman was shocked. The idea of a Jewish man talking to a Samaritan woman was so culturally out of bounds, she barely knew what to say. Here's how the conversation played out, according to Scripture:

The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?"

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."

He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."

"I have no husband," she replied.

Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

This is a life-changing story, not just for the Samaritan woman but for all followers of Jesus. In it Jesus shows us how to love unloved people.

*One fell swoop to abolish racism*

Notice that Jesus took a walk through Samaria, something Jews never did because of violent separatism in the culture. As I mentioned in chapter one, Samaritans were half-blooded people. The Assyrian invaders who had occupied Israel took wives and began producing mixed-race children. In response the Jews ostracized the half-breeds, believing they were only half-pure before God.

When Jesus took time out of his day to sit with someone of such an "impure" lineage, he brought attention to the absurdity of racism. When Jesus looked at people, he didn't see skin color or nationality or ethnic background. He saw their need for love. Check the New Testament, and you'll find that Jesus gave his time to all groups of people.

*One fell swoop to affirm women*

Jesus showed men how to love women, not in a sexual way but in a spiritual way--a practical way. In the New Testament culture of the Middle East, women were considered to be little more than servants to men. Jesus, by sitting and talking with a Samaritan woman, began validating women as equals of men.

His attitude was nothing short of revolutionary. From his friendship with Mary and Martha to his healing of Peter's mother-in-law to his first post-resurrection appearance, Jesus left no doubt that women were a central part of his ministry--and key figures in spreading his gospel.

*One fell swoop to advocate forgiveness*

The woman Jesus approached had been married five times. What's more, she was living with a man who wasn't her husband at all. Jesus certainly knew about her sin of adultery, but it didn't stop his relentless pursuit to help her in times of need. Jesus didn't judge her before she had the ability to choose truth. He saw her need and helped her reach the object of her desire.

**

Taken from "Love This!" by Andy Braner, copyright 2006, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/273806