Read John 4:5-42
Can you imagine what it would be like if no matter what you did, how you did it, what you said, where you went, what you wore … was stamped WRONG! That was the daily reality of the woman Jesus met at the well. She was from the WRONG town, embraced the WRONG belief, went to the WRONG church, held the WRONG political view, and in a sexist culture was the WRONG gender. But what labeled her WRONG more than anything was her past. A combination of being widowed by the untimely deaths of her husbands and divorced by men who found some excuse to get rid of her, convinced her she was WRONG, to the point that she accepted a demeaning relationship as a mistress.
Worse than others labeling a person as “WRONG” is when he or she puts the label on him/herself.
The shame of who she thought she was controlled every aspect of her life, including her daily schedule. Jesus encountered this woman at the well at noon. She didn’t come just for a mid-day drink of water, but to draw the day’s supply. The rest of the village women came first thing in the morning when it was cool and convenient. She came in the middle of the day, not because she was lazy, but to avoid the crowd and most likely any comments or looks they might make. They just reminded her how worthless she believed she really was.
What a deception! What has happened to us and by us makes us unworthy, but not worthless. Jesus went to the well that day for the same reason that He came to earth and later willingly went to the cross: to prove how truly valuable she was to God.
Jesus didn’t tell her what she had done wrong or why her personal life was such a disaster. He could; He knew. He didn’t tell her to “go and sin no more,” like He had others. He simply told her who He was! He was the Messiah, the promised One. The answer to everything WRONG in her life was found in Jesus. And in the time it took the disciples to buy lunch, she found hope, life and purpose. She found a Savior and Redeemer. It was clearly evident that God had done a miracle in her life, as her wrongs and her shame quickly became her testimony! What she had tried to hide or at least avoid was the very thing she ran back to the town to proclaim.
She was NOT what she had done, nor what had been done to her. She was someone of value, someone God could use to bring others to Jesus. Because of God’s incredible grace, her WRONGS became divinely RIGHT! That always happens when we meet with Jesus at the well of grace.
Making It Personal
When you interact with others, there will be those whom society has labeled WRONG. There will be even more who have labeled themselves that way.
Why is this label so destructive?
What promise does Deuteronomy 4:29 extend to those hurting souls?
Do you personally struggle with this issue?
Every time we deserve a big WRONG stamped on our life, we need it to remind us how much we need a Savior as well
How is Jesus the answer to every wrong in your life?
Through the Day Challenge
Today, look at your life with faith filled eyes. What do you see that is wonderfully right in you because of Christ? End the day by making a list. Refer to the list whenever the deceiver wants to label you wrongfully as “wrong.”
