Come to the Well: An Invitation for the Outcast by CHARISSA STEFFENS for Charisma News
Recently, as I was sitting in worship, the Holy Spirit showed me a scene of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman from John 4. The woman stood with her head down. A carefully constructed façade hid the shame she carried in her heart. She was partially resentful and partially afraid as Jesus tried to converse with her.
Having been passed from man to man, desperate to survive, her heart had no space or care for another man’s words. She was the least of the least: a Samaritan, a woman, an outcast. She was unimportant and uncared for; rejected by all, to the point of seeking water in the heat of the day. Her journey to the well was monotonous and she resented it at times.
As I pondered the scene, the Holy Spirit highlighted Jesus. I felt His compassion in that moment as His gaze rested on her. He had gone out of His way, purposefully seeking her out. He wanted to draw near to her. He had turned His disciples and their mission intentionally to this moment of connection with this one woman. She was precious to Him. When no one else cared, He did.
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For years, perhaps since she was young, she had seen herself through the eyes of others. Inferior and rejected, she had begun to believe their judgements. She dressed herself every day in their opinions, unaware of how to dress any other way.
Then Jesus appeared at the well. With one look into His eyes, she encountered a love she had never known. As He spoke, His words undid the ones that had kept her captive for years. She found herself dressed in new clothes; a garment of pure, white linen that declared she was precious. A beautiful robe that reflected her value to Him.
