Father who sees all and loves

As I have been slowly working my way through the book of John to see the face of my Father in Jesus, I have come to a section in John 4 that the Holy Spirit highlighted for me.  The Samiritan woman at the well is having a discussion with Jesus about water which Jesus turns to spiritual things and living water.  At one point in the discussion when she finally asks him for some of this living water, he invites her to call her husband.  This is a time when she gets exposed because Jesus through a word of knowledge points out that she has had five husbands and the man she is currently with is not her husband.  In this culture to have many different men either through marriage or simply being unmarried would have been a scandal if it was revealed.  Good reason she came out to gather water in the hottest part of the day when no one else would be around, it may be she wanted to avoid public scorn for her lifestyle.  When Jesus spoke out about her life, He pointed out what she spoke that was true but also revealed what she had not shared.  Then later the woman says, "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" (John 4:29).    I put in bold this amazing statement she made, she had such an encounter with Jesus that she felt as if Jesus told her all the things that she had done.  As we look at the passage the only area of her life Jesus discussed with her was her intimate relationship but I believe the encounter was so deep and profound she felt He was staring straight into her seeing everything.  As she shares this encounter with the people in her town, she does so openly with no shame.  I believe she saw such acceptance and love in His eyes (grace) that she experineced no shame or judement.  I believe Jesus is inviting us into this same kind of naked vulnerability that this woman experienced but through the grace of His presence there is no shame.  Grace changes everything, no longer do we have to hide behind our fig leaves and masks.  This woman was not changed by attempting to change her life but through being exposed to the living water of the Spirit through Christ.

In His Grace,
Bret