Lessons from the Well- Part One

Scripture: John 4:4-30 (Message) Please read the story in its entirety; this is only a portion of the story.

15 The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

16 He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.”

17-18 “I have no husband,” she said.

“That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.”

The Gist:

Sometimes, even after reading a story in scripture for what feels like 100 times or more, something new will stand out to us. For the next two episodes, we will be sitting in John 4, the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. Two things stood out to us: Why did Jesus ask a question he already knew the answer to? And why did John include the detail in verse 28 about the woman leaving her water pot behind?

In this week’s podcast, we take a closer look at the first question and consider why Jesus asked a question He already knew the answer to. This isn’t about getting the right answer or finding a solution, but more about being curious and entering into the story to learn more about God and ourselves.

We will consider how Jesus gently uses this question to get to the root of the real issue, to reveal his divine knowledge, confront truth without condemnation, and break through her defenses, as well as prepare her for the living water he is offering

Digging Deeper:

What have I been seeking or using to satisfy my heart unsuccessfully in place of God?

When I feel stressed, where do I instinctively turn for comfort?

What am I hesitant to pray honestly about?

If God is enough, what would change in how I'm living today?

Scripture

But let those who run to You for safety be glad they did;
let them break out in joyful song.
May You keep them safe—
their love for You resounding in their hearts.

You, O Eternal, are the One who lays all good things in the laps of the right-hearted. Your blessings surround them like a shield.

Psalm 5:11-12 (VOICE)

The Gist

Your blessings surround them like a shield.

Today, we discuss a new perspective on what a blessing is and isn't. It's incredible how one sentence in scripture can open our hearts to something new.

We have been taught or often think of a blessing as a moment, a breakthrough, an answered prayer, or provision at just the right time, but Psalm 5:12 is pointing to something deeper. It speaks of blessing as being an atmosphere, posture or even environment that we live in.

Blessing doesn’t remove us from our difficulties or challenges, but it changes how much gets through to us living inside this blessing shapes how we interpret life, and we walk differently. Blessing isn’t something we’re waiting for, but what we remain within.

To say that blessing becomes our environment is saying I live under God’s care. I wake up in his favor, and I walk through the world protected by his presence, it’s saying, I don’t have to move toward the blessing or work for it. I wake up inside it.

Digging Deeper

If blessing is not something I chase, what parts of my life still feel like I’m striving to earn it?

What shifts in me when I imagine blessing as the atmosphere around me rather than a reward ahead of me?

What changes in my identity when I believe I am someone who lives in blessing rather than someone who receives it occasionally?

How might my decisions change if I trusted that I am already held, already covered, already favored?

What practices help me stay conscious of the environment of blessing rather than slipping back into striving?

Scripture

Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; 5 it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs 6 or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight! 7 Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (VOICE)

The Gist

Today, we discuss why these verses make Allison roll her eyes.

Sometimes scripture is so overquoted and used in the wrong context it loses its weight and meaning. That’s especially ironic in these verses since Paul wrote them to call out and convict the people of Corinth, who thought that they already understood love.

He wasn’t writing poetry for couples or talking about romantic love in 1 Corinthians. He was writing to a church that was failing when it came to love.

In fact, it quietly describes the life of Jesus, not an ideal personality or marriage. These verses were written to confront our wills and call us to surrender back into obedience.

The gist is, our discomfort with this verse is the tension between a beautiful idea of Christ's love, and the real-world harm misapplied theology and incorrect use can have over time.

Digging Deeper

Can you relate to what we shared today about these verses from 1 Corinthians? Do they bother you because they have been made sentimental, because they refuse to let you off the hook, or something else?

How did it feel to hear that these verses weren't written by Paul to be sentimental, but surgical? What does that mean to you?

Is there a scripture that brings up strong emotional responses in you? Consider sitting down with curiosity and journaling through those thoughts.