If you know me well or if you've ever heard me preach, you probably already know what I think of John's fourth chapter, at least as far as the story of the woman at the well. It is one of my favorite stories to tell and really vibes well with the evangelist in me. I think it is best summarized by the comments of the villagers toward the end of the passage:
"It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."
This is why I think it is important to read the gospels and to find a way to experience God personally. I don't want for you to be compelled to worship my God. I want for you to know and experience the presence of the one and only true God.
The second half of the chapter is about a man that comes to Jesus so that Jesus can heal his son. Jesus does, but he offers the comment that people only believe if they see signs and miracles.
We might still be a lot like that today.
If our prayers aren't answered the way we think they should be, then there must not be a God.
Or maybe we just don't think that God is a just and loving being -- I mean what kind of loving God would allow Russia to invade Ukraine and kill innocent people? -- and so we don't want to believe in or worship that kind of a god.
I'm not a big believer in miracles, at least not in the way that most people believe in miracles. I do believe that God interacts with us and even intervenes on our behalf, but I think of miracles as events that happen that absolutely cannot be explained as anything other than supernatural.
I might have been that type of skeptic back in the day. I mean -- I'm pretty much that way still.
It's hard to explain experiencing God to someone that hasn't. Maybe that's why I like the story of the woman at the well so much. After experiencing Jesus in a personal encounter, her simple invitation to everyone else was, "Come and see a man ... Can this be the Christ?"
I really believe that in reading about Jesus and learning what he taught we can get to know God. And we learned from yesterday's post that knowing God is the beginning of eternal life.
John
Posts to Out of My Hat are just my thoughts on varied subjects from politics, religion, parenting, magic and life in general. Please feel free to comment on or share any of the material found here. Just note the source and, when possible, provide a link to Out of My Hat.
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