Living on Mission – Going Out of Our Way

Living on Mission – Going Out of Our Way

Jesus went through Samaria. It was not a popular “must see” tourist destination. It wasn’t efficient. It wasn’t convenient. Even though it was the most direct route, it was to be avoided by Jews. However, for Jesus, it was necessary to go there.

John 4:4 says that Jesus had to go through Samaria. Why? Because Jesus had an appointment with a Samaritan woman. She wasn’t aware of the appointment, but He knew where to find her. He knew that her place in society would dictate her location. He knew her guilt and shame would drive her to that place at a time nobody else would choose to go there. He knew her circumstances in life. He knew her past. He knew her and loved her and set out to meet her.

We will look more into the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in the coming weeks, but today let’s focus on Jesus going out of His way. Jesus was on His way from Judea (Point A) to Galilee (Point B.) The trip from Point A to Point B does not lead through Samaria if you are a Jew because Samaria was filled with half-breeds who were considered “not cool.” This place was to be avoided; it was the bad part of town, the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak.

Jesus was led there by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate the Kingdom of God and to declare the Good News to this woman. This is what happens with Missional Impulses – the Holy Spirit leads us to do and/or say things that may not seem logical to us.

How do we react when we are prompted to do something that would be less convenient than we would like? How willing are we to give a word of encouragement to a stranger? How often do we go the extra mile to show love? How much scorn and judgment are we willing to endure for choosing to do the right thing? How far out of our way will we go for that divine appointment?

Let’s practice Living on Mission and surrender ourselves to His promptings no matter how far out of our way we must go.

Pastor Angela