August 2: John 4:7-9

Key Verse: John 4:9
The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Devotion:
Who did Jesus include in His group of people He wanted to live with… everyone! So many times in our culture we don’t include some people just because they live on the wrong side of the street or they don’t belong to a particular group we associate with… We exclude people just because they are different...

When Jesus came to Sychar He knew it was time to meet with the Samaritan woman who was being shunned by the community she lived in. He knew it was time to include the person others were rejecting just because she was different. To Him, it did not matter whether she was a Jew, believer, Samaritan, non-believer, whatever! He wants every one of us to be included in His family and in His church. He wants every one of us, no matter what race, colour, position, society, past, present or future; He wants very one of us to be included!

This is the task set before us when He said He wants us to love our neighbour. Jesus wants us to include the excluded. He wants us to meet with the people who are shunned. He wants us to greet the people ignored by society. He wants us to help those who are stepped on by others. Jesus wants us to act like the Christians we say we are!

I know I have been guilty of this in the past, and for those times I am truly sorry, but joining Eden (#joineden) and becoming part of a community which had been sidelined by society, I have been able to do so much more of the things Jesus asked of me in the beginning. The place I live and love may well change over time, but the people always remain the same – those chosen by God! (that means everyone by the way!)

Points to Ponder:
What do you do in your community?

What would Jesus do in your position?