If you only knew . . .

Out of all the lines that guys have used over the years when meeting women, Jesus had the best. “If you only knew who it is that is speaking to you . . .”

Pretty good line huh? “Hey! Hower ya doin? Oh, by the way, I’m God.”

Jesus’ didn’t do a lot of shmoozing during His time on earth. He usually cut right to chase. In this case we find Jesus deep in Samarian territory. He’s sitting on the edge of a stone well when a woman approaches. This encounter is the whole reason that Jesus has come through this land that most Jews, godly Jews, good Jews would normally avoid. We know from other accounts that Jesus made a point of seeking out and interacting with those the rest of the world would normally avoid; the poor, the sick, alcoholics and outcasts. In this case Jesus encounters a woman who had really come to the end of her options. A Samaritan, an outcast, a woman in a male run culture, she’d been rejected by five husbands, was living common-law with another man and had been used and abused by who knows how many others. Jesus had triggered her interest simply by talking with her.

Who was this man who so casually ignored society’s most treasured rules of social conduct? Who was this Jew who spoke to those despised by His fellow countrymen? Who was this man who seemingly knew her better than she knew herself?

Here we see the face of God; kind, gentle, tender, seeking us out, seeking out those who need Him most. God seeks out those who are looking for Him even if they don’t know that at the moment. Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen Creator God.”

Jesus does NOT seek out those who imagine themselves to be self-sufficient. Yet, today, as then Jesus travels into the Samarias of the world, on purpose, to seek out those of us who are living in a dry and thirsty land.

Oh, and as it turns out? Jesus really does tell her that He is God, the Messiah so eagerly awaited by the Jew and Samaritan alike. And what is the woman’s response? Why, it’s what we do naturally when we’ve had a genuine encounter with our Creator. She went to tell others about Jesus. She went to tell others what Jesus had done for her. She went to encourage others to find out what Jesus is like and what He can do for them. “If you only knew . . .”