Making Him Real
John 4:39-42 NIV
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
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Before you became a Christian, how many times had you heard the story of Jesus? For most of us, growing up in America, it would be virtually impossible to not at least hear about Him in some way. In fact, many of us knew the entire story of Jesus, possibly having even read the Bible from cover to cover, but because we had not accepted Him, He was not real to us.
The Samaritans, too, heard about Jesus, directly from the woman who had met Jesus at the well. They came to hear Him because of what the woman had said. But He only became real to them when they got to know Him for themselves.
Again, we must take our example from the woman at the well. If she had not shared what Jesus had done with others, no one would have come to Him that day. But she did go, and she did share, and they did come. By her act of sharing, she allowed other people to have the opportunity to know Jesus themselves. By your act of sharing what Jesus has done in your life, you open the door for others to know Him and to love Him. If you don't share, the door will be opened some other time, of course. God doesn't lay the responsibility of others' salvation solely on us! But He does allow us to participate in what He's doing in other peoples' lives. If your life does not reflect His love for you, you miss out on what can be one of the most thrilling experiences of your life - being a part of someone's journey toward eternal life with Jesus. And the person's journey may be delayed a bit until God sends someone else to do what He had intended for you to do.
Start sharing His love, both with your words and your actions. Then pray that Jesus will become real to those around you.
"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:47 NIV
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