Out of the comfort zone…

Out of your Comfort Zone

 

Recently my son shared that everyone in his school did not see themselves as rich, though all they wear is “Abercombie” apparel.  Though the majority of the world lives on two dollars or less a day, we live in relative comfort and familiarity.  In the fourth chapter of John, Christ models for us a jump from the familiar to another world right beside us.  In this passage we see Christ acknowledging that it is time to return to Galilee, but he decides to go through Samaria.  The Samaritans were considered a people to be avoided.  Though they held to the teachings of the first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch), they did not accept any of the other Old Testament teaching and definitely did not see that worship was to be in the temple in Jerusalem.  Christ and his disciples arrived at Sychar during the noon hour, and while the disciples went into this town for food, Christ rested outside at the well.  A woman went to draw water at this time. She was an immoral woman who was shunned by the people and had no standing with the other women who came when it was not so hot. 

 

Christ spoke to her and asked for a drink of water.  In doing so he initiated the breaking of several cultural norms.  To begin with, a Jewish man would never speak to a woman, especially a Samaritan woman, in public.  Secondly, as a religious Hebrew, if he were to drink even from a Samaritan vessel/cup he would be considered unclean.  She challenged his step into her life, but he quickly stated that he had so much more “living water” that she needed.  As he asked her to go call her husband he knew even before she told him that she did not have just one, but had many husbands and was sleeping with a new man.  He knew her inner world and shame, yet he was interested in her soul, which caused her to see Christ as a prophet. 

 

She put up a religious excuse in front of Christ, dealing with her traditional belief on where worship is to happen. But Christ explained that God is seeking people who will worship Him in “spirit and truth.”  The location is not the point, but the position of the heart is critical in worship.  After this the disciples arrived and the woman went and told the town all about Christ.  What a bold step of faith for a woman who was a castaway of society.  They people in the town believed as well.  Christ, at their invitation, stayed for two days – breaking a major cultural norm of never spending the night in an unclean Samaritan town. 

 

Stepping out of your comfort zone will require faith and discernment in stepping across traditions that may need to come down for the truth to be known.  This may involve you stopping your car and helping someone of a different ethnic group fix their flat tire.  It may also involve your small group going into a poor area and adopting a family in need.  Or perhaps inviting them to your homes to understand what true love and community is all about.

 

Where are the present Samaritans in your area?  How would the Lord call you to get out of your comfort zone and into the world?  What are several cultural norms that will need to be broken?