Love Well: Be loving. Be Intentional. Be Jesus.
April 25, 2021
Pastor Mary Anne de la Torre
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
– John 4:25-28
How to love others in an era of
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What we can learn about how to love others from Jesus in how he interacted with the woman at the well:
1 - Loving well means being
summary:
Jesus took the long way to get to this woman. He became hungry and thirsty. He met her at the hottest point in the day.
question:
Are we willing to look beyond our own
2 - Loving well means getting
summary:
Jesus actually went through Samaria. He got close to a people group, that by the culture’s standards, he shouldn’t have done. He actually spoke to the woman. He shared with her her deepest secret and biggest source of shame and chose to love her anyway. Better yet, he revealed himself to her as the Messiah. What a gift to bestow on the marginalized, the oppressed, the sinner, the loser. Jesus wasn’t afraid to get close.
We need to know others if we are going to love them. We need to ask questions, listen to their stories, encourage them with the love of Christ.
question:
Who can I better love by getting
3 - Loving well means we meet a
summary:
Jesus asked for a physical need — water. But he, in turn, provided for the woman’s greatest need-living water, hope and eternal life. Jesus was in tune with what the woman truly needed.
Before the nail was pounded, a drink was offered. Mark said the wine was mixed with myrrh. Matthew described it as wine mixed with gall. Both myrrh and gall contain sedative properties that numb the senses. But Jesus refused them. He refused to be stupefied by the drugs, opting instead to feel the full force of His suffering. Why? Why did He endure all these feelings? Because He knew you would feel them too. He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you’d be sleepy, grief-stricken and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul … pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is — He understands. —Max Lucado
questions:
– Are we in tune with what others might truly
– To get to what people really need, we need to
– Can we empathize with people like