(Studying the Woman at the Well)

If being in one too many relationships makes one a little tarnished, being divorced five times would make the infamous woman at the well just plain rusted. . .I guess. . . .at least from a societal viewpoint. I can imagine that within some psychological theory, it could be argued that the woman at the well was looking for her prince, her soul mate when she met her Savior. She didn’t know it, but Jesus did. Was there someone in this woman’s life who could have told her that she had an issue . . .that extended her taste in men? Apparently not. She was headed down the fast lane to destination husband number six, and he wasn’t looking too good. She was a Christian waiting to happen.  

Jesus arrived at the well to converse with her, thwarting her perspective of devotion and worship, discrediting societal norms, and momentarily removing tension between the sexes that had been brewing for many generations. When we fall into situations we don’t understand, we often conjure up foolish assumptions. In addition, when we fail to embrace God’s definition of unconditional love and grace, we flow back into worldly ideals that mock God’s plan for relationships.

The story of the woman at the well is one of my favorite of all biblical stories. Some scholars and ministers have stated that this conversation was the longest recorded conversation Jesus had with anyone. It touches me because in the end, nearly an entire town believed in Jesus because of her encounter with Him. 

Some of us have a bad reputation in the eyes of others, and some of us have a bad reputation only in our own eyes. It’s a shame that either one of those perspectives can weigh us down and prevent us from sharing our story. 

Shame can shut us up and keep us silently tormented by the enemy’s lies. . .especially the huge one that no one wants to hear what we have to say. . .that we should keep our testimonies to ourselves. It’s beautiful that despite her past, she told people about Jesus anyway. She didn’t feel she wasn’t good enough to share what Jesus had done for her personally. . .if only for a moment, she was moved.

 The purpose of this post is to help boost any person who feels too ashamed to tell his/her personal testimony. First, Jesus died for you not to carry that shame, He carried it for  you to the Cross. Go ahead and be free and share your personal testimony about Him with others. There is not one of us who doesn’t have something we hate about our past, something we’re ashamed of. Pray about it, and begin to share whatever God places on your heart to share. You don’t know who will benefit from your testimony.