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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD
Encountering an extraordinary God in ordinary life
Issue # 202 July 18, 2001
The Elm
In the center of our front yard stood an elm tree, an arborist (is that a word? The tree guy.) once told me it was a Manchurian Elm, but I’m not certain.
There are not a lot of elms in this part of the country, because Dutch Elm disease has decimated the population. That made having the tree an extra blessing.
Once of the nicest looking trees in the neighbourhood, it made a real focal point for the small flower garden at it’s base.
The shade from it fell nicely across our driveway. The robins loved to nest in it.
It was a lovely, healthy elm. Or so we thought until the day it fell down into the driveway. Fortunately we weren’t home at the time, so it didn’t hit either vehicle.
When the neighbourhood arborist came by to remove it, he commented on never having seen an elm die from the inside out like this one did. The only thing holding it up had been the outer few layers of trunk and the bark.
Perfect looking on the outside and dying on the inside. I wonder how many people that describes. How many people in our social circles, our families or our work places would be like that?
Holding it all together in front of others but secretly suffering from loneliness, shame, despair, addiction, eating disorders or a thousand other problems. Desperately in need of love, acceptance and forgiveness but not having anywhere to turn.
Jesus knew the hurts and how to handle them. He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, in a loving, non-judgmental way.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
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. )
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
"I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." John 4:4-26 NIV
Now the Samaritan woman had her problems, and Jesus knew all about them, but look at the considerate gentle way He listened and spoke. It provides an excellent model for us.
Will you give an ear to those who are healthy on the outside but dying on the inside? Jesus did.
Until next time, may you take the time to truly know and listen to those around you. May you become known as a person of integrity who can keep a confidence and be given many opportunities to share the love of Jesus.
God bless.
Kevin
If you are one of those people who is healthy on the outside but feel like you are dying on the inside, Jesus can change that.
Email me and I’ll share a few Bible verses about why a personal relationship with Jesus is important and a prayer that will make it possible.
If you have things in your life that need prayer, email me. We have a prayer team that will pray for you, but he only one who will know your identity is me.
© 2001 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin
All Rights Reserved