Real Hope: Loving Our NeighboursSample

Loving Our Neighbours

We don’t know her name but we all know of the woman at the well. Only appearing in John’s Gospel, the Samaritan woman was asked for a drink by Jesus and is one of the New Testament’s best-known cameos. The conversation she has with Jesus is awash with mind-blowing truth. I get why you can get stuck at this exchange where Jesus reveals He is the water of eternal life (verses 13–14) and the Messiah who is to come (verse 25–26). But notice how the woman at the well does not.

Instead, she seems to dash off (leaving the reason she went to the well – her water jar) so she can tell her neighbors about the ‘man who told me everything I ever did.' Chapters before, Jesus declared the new commandment to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ (John 13:34), and this Samaritan woman did just that.

If you are anything like me, you are shy and burdened about loving our neighbors by sharing the love of God in Jesus. It can feel too big, important, or potentially offensive. But notice the reaction of the Samaritan woman’s neighbors. They appreciated her testimony, and Jesus’ own words caused them to believe He ‘really is the Savior of the world.'

Do I believe my neighbors can discover the same belief?

Written by BEN MCEACHEN