When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well near Sychar, he not only impacted her life, but the life of many in her town. After her encounter with Jesus, she spread the news through the town about Jesus. He stayed in their town for two days (another culturally forbidden thing) and taught them. As a result, "many more believed because of his word."
Here are a few observations about how Jesus reached out to her, and how we can lead more to Jesus by leading more like Jesus:
1. Don't stay in the "safe zone" of relationships. Take initiative in crossing barriers of culture, race, social status, etc. to pursue spiritual conversations.
2. Intentionally look for ways to turn conversation to spiritual things. Jesus did this by starting with a need that he had - for water.
3. Meet a person where they are at - be truthful but not condemning. Even though the woman tried to change topics when Jesus revealed his knowledge of her sinful life, I don't get the sense that he was condemning her.
In the past 2 weeks, I've had a couple of opportunities to share the gospel. They were with people who attend Grace, and I've talked with them before and thought they were believers. But in more in-depth conversation, and for one at a point of crisis, they were open to the gospel and acknowledged the need for Christ. One had just trusted in Christ days before, and the other was still wrestling with the decision. The point? Don't assume that religious people know Christ! Talk with them about it and let's get out of the comfort zone more often, trusting God to lead us every day to those who need him.
What's your story of sharing faith?
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