The beginning of the interaction with the woman from the well is a fascinating one. There are intricacies of Grace that speak volumes to the way I should approach others thirsting for it. *Side note: I realize there are many doctrines that can be exposed from this passage. The following view of the John 4:7-15 passage is done simply by looking through the lens of Grace... as with everything else at graceguy.org. v7. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8. (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) - These are Christ's first words to her - He is proactive in establishing contact - He joins her in what she is doing - He talks to her even if there are a million reasons not to v9. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) - The woman reacts normally (see why here) - She questions the interaction, the request itself - She brings up the obvious racial and gender differences between the two v10. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” - Jesus goes beyond the physical question and answers a spiritual question she did not ask - He looks to her spiritual needs, not her physical ones - He immediately begins by describing ... Grace! -- As a gift from God -- As himself being the provider of this great gift -- As something that is readily given following a simple, honest request - It's amazing to me that the Creator of the universe, the Sacrificial lamb, the three-times Holy God doesn't start with critical judgements, sin, hell, but starts with Grace. v11. The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12. Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” - The physical and the spiritual clash in her mind -- She hears living water but does not see anything physical to draw it with -- She takes the spiritual gift of living water and compares it to the physical well given by Jacob - She questions Christ's credibility by comparing His worth to Jacob, the patriarch - She doesn't understand Christ's initial description of Grace v13. Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14. but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” - He is patient with her and listens to her questions - He doesn't interrupt or belittle her - He doesn't go into heavy doctrines or theology - He acknowledges that she is struggling with the physical and spiritual differences - He repeats and completes the description of Grace (again, forgoing judgement) -- He is the giver of this gift -- The gift is different from everything else that exists -- The gift is all-satisfying -- The gift transforms from within -- The gift brings eternal life -- Accepting the gift once means one never has to ask for it again - He vulgarises what living water means to her - He personalises the message to how it could meet her precise need v15. The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” - She realises the need for such a gift - She still believes that it is something physical and not spiritual --- Oh that I should have the wisdom in my witnessing to start with Grace and to listen patiently to their needs. In the following part of this amazing interaction, Jesus, full of Grace and Truth, considers the sin in her life. Add Comment Grace in my reactions during trials 09/21/2010
"God hath not promised skies always blue, flower strewn paths all our lives thru. God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. But God hath promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love." - Hymn In the last years, my family has gone through an intense trial that ultimately became the reason I started this study on Grace. I had the opportunity to experience Grace from others during these hardships and take a good look at my typical reactions when others were having a hard time. On my end: - I did not learn Graceful compassion, even though I grew up in the faith - I think that saying 'I'll pray for you' is enough - I don't persevere in helping - I think it's because they did something or because they lack faith - I preach them what I think God is telling them - I think that caring too much will inconvenience them - I don't think of their needs - I suggest 'obvious-to-me' solutions What I liked seeing in others - When they just (shut up and) listened - When they knew we couldn't supply to our needs and put themselves in our shoes, without us saying anything - When they didn't judge - When they didn't offer 'solutions' - When they persevered ... even at a high cost Grace, it's in others' examples Vows of Grace 07/02/2010
Today, I promise to love To give you my mind and to love yours To give you my heart and to love yours To give you my words and to love yours To give you my eyes and to love yours To give you my body and to love yours Forever, I give you my love and to you only Today, I promise to live To give you my gratefulness and to live yours To give you my feelings and to live yours To give you my dreams and to live yours To give you my laughter and to live yours To give you my joy and to live yours To give you my tears and and to live yours To give you my hurts and to live yours To give you my fears and to live yours To give you my humility and to live yours To give you my support and to live yours Forever, I promise to give you my life and to you only Today, I promise to grace To give you my past and to grace yours To give you my present and to grace yours To give you my future and to grace yours Forever, I promise to give you my grace and to you only To give my 'Thank yous' when sharing these promises To give you my 'I love yous' when living these promises To give you my 'I'm sorrys' when I break these promises Today, I promise all these things through Him To give Him all of me and to offer Him all of you From His first breath in my morning to the last one at night From this breath He gives me to my final one To love you through Him To live you through Him To grace you through Him. - Grace Guy Dare to Grace 07/02/2010
Dare to be patient when you want to explode Dare to do good when you want to hurt Dare to listen when you want to interrupt Dare to ask questions when you think you have all the answers Dare to love when you find nothing lovable Dare to support when you don't understand Dare to choose what will hurt your ego to please the other Dare to ask when you think the other should know Dare to correct with love when you want to buy peace Dare to speak with love when you want to criticize Dare to humiliate yourself to elevate the other Dare to confess your mistakes when shame would hide them Dare to find solutions together when you want to complain Dare to assume good intentions when bad ones seem obvious Dare to encourage when you want to leave Dare to stay faithful when your needs aren't met and your desires look elsewhere Dare to stay silent when you have the perfect line to win the argument, lay blame, give guilt and cause hurt Dare to forgive when the unforgivable is done to you Dare to forgive when the other has not asked for forgiveness Dare to do everything you don't feel like doing to put God's will and the other's needs before your own Dare to find joy in the struggles and peace in the storms Dare to persevere when you're at the end Dare to love Dare to grace - Grace Guy --- FRANCAIS / FRENCH --- Ose être patient quand tu veux exploser Ose être bon quand tu veux juste être méchant Ose écouter quand tu veux interrompre et parler Ose poser des questions quand tu penses avoir toutes les réponses Ose aimer les jours où tu ne trouves rien d’aimable chez l’autre Ose supporter quand tu ne comprends pas Ose choisir ce qui est difficile pour l’égo mais qui fera plaisir à l’autre Ose demander quand tu penses que l’autre devrait le savoir Ose reprendre avec amour quand tu préfères acheter la paix Ose t’humilier pour élever l’autre Ose suggérer avec amour quand tu veux critiquer Ose confesser tes erreurs quand la honte préfère les garder cachées Ose trouver des solutions ensemble quand tu veux te plaindre Ose assumer les meilleures intentions de l’autre quand ces mauvaises intentions te semblent évidentes Ose l’encourager quand tu veux l’abaisser Ose rester fidèle quand tes désirs se portent ailleurs Ose retenir ta langue quand tu as la parfaite phrase pour descendre l’autre, le faire sentir coupable et gagner l’argument Ose pardonner quand l’autre t’as blessé profondément et quand ca te semble impossible de le faire Encore plus, Ose pardonner et oublier les fautes de l’autre avant même que l’autre ne te demande pardon Ose faire grâce quand tout ce que tu veux faire c’est de prendre ta revanche et lui rendre la monnaie de la pièce Osez prier et lire la Parole ensemble quand vous n’avez pas le temps Osez mettre Dieu en premier quand la vie vous offre beaucoup d’autres priorités Osez ne jamais vous coucher sans que tout soit résolu entre vous Osez servir Christ ensemble quand l’envie n’y est pas Osez trouver votre joie en Lui quand les toutes vos circonstances sont difficiles et incompréhensibles Osez persévérer quand tout semble s’écrouler autour de vous Et par-dessus tout : Osez vous répéter plus que n’importe quoi d’autre: Je t’aime, je t'aime, je t'aime Grace in others' mirrors 06/29/2010
If I learn to see Grace in the mirror, then the natural next step is to see Grace in others. It is hard for me to see others as God's Grace sees them. I see them as I think I know them, not as God's Grace sees them. I see their flaws, He sees Grace I see their imperfections, He sees Grace I see their failings, He sees Grace I see their weakness, He sees Grace I see their vices, He sees Grace I see their past, He sees Grace Grace, it's in others' mirrors too. | AuthorI am on a journey to learn and experience biblical Grace. This page holds my 'oh wow, I didn't know that about Grace' moments based on the research discoveries you read on this website. This is my personal journal to my 2Pt 3:18 growth and understanding of this infinitely deep concept. ArchivesJanuary 2012 CategoriesAll |
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