Today’s chapter is John 4

Tom writes:

It is really interesting that Jesus stayed two days in Sychar. Jesus was merely passing through Samaria on his way to Galilee, so this is a fairly major departure. I’m sure Jesus had plenty of really important things that he was going to be doing in Galilee but he chose to postpone those (or perhaps even scrap them) in order to press into what he saw his Father doing in Samaria. I find this flexibility challenging. I fear I regularly surge on past Sychar and thereby miss out on seeing “many more become believers”. If it was me, I’d have been off feeling smug and telling everyone about my encounter with the woman at the well. But in doing this I would have failed to see that God wanted me to press in further. I would have missed a whole village coming to faith. I need to be more willing to let God mess up my timetable. I want to be more open to how much He actually wants to use me. Why? Because Jesus is not just my truth. He is not just My Jesus, My Saviour. Jesus is the Saviour of the whole world. John is very clear to point this out; he started his gospel showing Jesus offering salvation to a few men of Israel, but has swiftly and deliberately shown how Jesus also included Samaritans in his call.

And this is the crucial point - these “outsiders” are brought in through our willingness to drop our “normal” life choices. That is what “love of brother” actually means; we spend days in Sychar. This might be moving some things on our schedule but it might also mean being willing to let some of our cultural preferences slide. In his conversation with the Samaritan woman Jesus conveys such freedom of access to the Father - just to worship in the Spirit and truth. There is huge scope for diversity in the kingdom. Which sounds so jolly until someone prays in a way that annoys you. Or they want to sing songs you don’t like. Or say something that strikes you as rude. Let’s be honest. It isn’t easy to stay two days in Sychar. But, it is crucial if we are to walk in the paths of our king. As Paul says in Ephesians, the desire of God is to bring all things together under the one head. God’s vision is for his Kingdom to be an extraordinary, life-filled, brimmingly diverse family. And he invites us to be door keepers and ambassadors for this family - going the extra mile and smiling that extra smile in order to welcome in those who we never would normally have known.

Question for reflection

What would “staying two days in Sychar” look like for you?

John 4 - Wednesday 23rd October