The John Squad
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My Progress:
I finished memorizing Chapter 4 and am happy to have passed another milestone. There are definitely easy days and hard days, so I'm trying to just go with the flow (which has never been all that easy for me). I will spend this week reviewing Chapter 4 as well as the 3 previous chapters before I move on to Chapter 5.
Some Thoughts:
One of my daughters came to me the other day and asked for a lollipop. (We do not have many treats at our house, so it was a special request.) However, we had been out that afternoon and already had some ice cream earlier. My reply was something like, "we already had ice cream today. You know that treats are special and we only have them sometimes. We can't have them all the time because they are not good for bodies...." I went on and on. After my little rant, I went into the cupboard and gave the child a lollipop. Why is this story pertinent to the book of John, you may ask? As I was memorizing the end of Chapter 4, I got to the part where Jesus heals the royal official's son. After reading it through the first several times, I ended up with the same exact question that I had while I was memorizing Chapter 2's water to wine story. Why on earth did Jesus respond as if He wasn't going to do it - and then He goes ahead and does it?!
So there I was, handing a lollipop to a child and it hit me like a tractor tire. Now, I'm not sure Jesus' exact motives for what He said and how He acted. But I do know that He came to teach people. And I am also certain of His love for us. Perhaps it is possible that He was first responding with His teaching, causing people to examine the motives behind their requests. And then, in His great love for humanity, met the needs of those who came to Him, drawing them closer to Himself and building them up to be stronger in their faith.
I am also struck by Jesus' response to the Samaritan woman when he says, "I who speak to you am He." That is just so awesome. Can you imagine being that woman? I don't find it surprising that the next thing she did was leave her water jar behind and run back to the village. It makes me ask myself, where is my water jar? Do I drop it at the well and run to spread the good news? Or do I continue to fill it, carry it back to my house, and finish up with my chores until I have some free time to talk with people?
My modern day example of this would be the grocery store. I frequently go early in the morning, 4 lovely little cherubs in tow. Now, if you've ever shopped in the early morning, you know that the store is filled with kind and wonderful elderly people. With 4 adorable kids in the cart, I am frequently stopped by an elderly admirer. How I would love to report that I happily stop my cart and chit chat for a few moments, grabbing hold of each opportunity to minister to these people and offer them the gift of living water that I have been graciously given. Unfortunately, however, I offer a quick glance, an awkward smile, a whispered "thankyou", and I am off to the Cheerios aisle, completely unwilling to be interrupted. It seems as though in the "busy-ness" of life, I am missing the entire point.
After memorizing this chapter, I am going to be more mindful of when "opportunities at the well" may occur. I can only hope that someone would be able to see Jesus through my life, enough to leave their water jar and run back to their town to share the news.
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