Did You Know You are Cherished?
Did you know you are cherished? It's true. You are cherished. It is your identity as a child of God.
What makes us feel cherished? Time is a precious commodity. When someone makes an effort to be present in my life it makes me feel valuable, loved, cherished. The life of Jesus is about his presence – Emmanuel… God with Us. His life is about God coming near as a demonstration of love. Is this Biblical? Very! "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…" John 3:16.
In John 4:3–43, Jesus came near specifically for one woman who needed to know she was cherished.
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3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
4 And He had to pass through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
And He had to pass through Samaria. If you look at map in the back of your Bible, from the time in which Jesus lived, you will see there is no geographical reason to go through Samaria. In fact, Rabbi's in his day avoided Samaria. But Jesus had to go. Why? Read on…
7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."
8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Could it be that Jesus had to go Samaria just to start a conversation with this woman? In reality, Rabbi's didn't generally talk to women – how counter cultural! Jesus was more a respecter of persons than of traditional roles. I get the impression not many people talked to her. She was, after all, headed to the well in the heat of the day. Women generally went to the well together early in the morning while it was still cool. It was a social time for them. So why is she out there all by herself? Where are her friends? Who is spending time with her? Who is present for her?
10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
11 She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?
12 "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?"
13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw."
16 He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."
17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband';
18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."
Oh, well there it is! I bet the women in town considered her kind of well… slutty. She seems to go through a ton of men right? Women with a story like hers tend to make other women nervous and suspicious. There is nothing worse than a whole bunch of women in fear ganging up on another. She was a social outcast.
When Jesus offered her water that would quench her thirst forever she jumped at it! Her desire to never thirst again is symbolic of her longing for emotional fulfillment. Her multiple relationships with men give us some insight into her struggle. Could it be she is searching for a love that satisfies her? Could her relationship challenges be a result of not being able to trust or be trusted? Could it be that man after man had dumped her for one reason or another creating a cycle of rejection, heartache, and the feeling she would never be good enough? Can you imagine her disillusionment with love, commitment, trust, and even friendship? Can you imagine the state of her identity? What she must have thought of herself, her worth, her value? How she perhaps spoke to herself? She was a woman in great pain. How do I know?
19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22 "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
This woman is queen of a tool called deflection. Jesus' comments hit way too close to home and she changed the subject. She was uncomfortable knowing he could "see" her. So she did what all of us do when confronted with what we do not want to face – she tried to get him to talk about something else. Jesus, always the gentleman, went with her on her rabbit trail. In doing so he demonstrated both respect and kindness toward her.
25 The woman said to Him, "I know that the Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."
26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Jesus had to go to Samaria for her. He had to be there – for her. Her need exposed, he revealed that he could, and wanted to, meet her need. He had to show her a love that would never fail her. He wanted to validate and affirm her. He had to go through Samaria to speak the truth, full of grace to her, and be present for her. He had to go so he could reveal his true identity – Messiah, the Christ – to her. His presence told her she mattered.
27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?"
28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,
29 "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?"
30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
In speaking to this woman Jesus restored her dignity and accepted her. In revealing himself to her he changed her life. He cherished her. He cherishes you too. You may feel rejected. You may have made choices that made other people uncomfortable. You may be thirsty for a love that satisfies. Whatever your experience, know that Jesus cherishes you. He accepts you just as you are. Your past choices can be forgiven. His love will make you whole because he will never leave you wanting. All you must do to receive it is believe it.
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CJ Rapp is founder of Trash the Lies women's conference. See CJ at Trash the Lies at Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa in Las Vegas May 3. For information: cjrapp.com.
