Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing. - John 4:27
Thinking about the story of Jesus and the woman at the well made me realize how many of us live crippled Christian lives because of “what they might say.” “They” can be Great-aunt Alice, my husband or child, my sophisticated friend, or even the gossip at the women’s club. Jesus didn’t bother himself with what “they” might say about his conversation with a despised woman because he cared deeply about what God had already said! That’s why he made himself of no reputation and humbled himself, and that’s why we must do the same. Jesus told us that as the Father had sent him, so he would send us (John 20:21).
Years ago I got to know a rough street boy. After he became a Christian, he asked me to go with him to talk to his friends. “Where are they?” I inquired.
“In the pub,” he answered.
“Oh, I couldn’t go in there,” I quickly responded. “Whatever would people say?” I was pretty sure that if I were to go into a place like that, the church organist would happen by as I entered with my new friend.
“He made himself of no reputation,” God reminded me. “Now go and do likewise.” So I went—because I tried to care more about what he had already said than what they might get around to saying. “Lord, humble me and may you find me fighting to be faithful, rather than seeking popularity. May I care about your reputation and learn to let you care about mine.”
For Further Study: John 4:27-30
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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