This
man was different. A man like him would never associate with a woman like her. Yet,
not only did he speak to her, he asked her for a drink.
She
longed to be loved. She turned from one man to the next, but nothing ever
lasted. And then, he came along. They had never met, yet he knew everything
about her, her darkest secrets and her deepest desires. Still, he didn’t look
down on her. He didn’t shun her. He would never had joined in the whispering as
she walked by on the street.
Yes,
this man was different. For he saw through her imperfections and brokenness; he
offered her the most perfect unconditional love that she had ever known. This
man didn’t want to take anything from her except for her hurt, her sin, her
shame…. He wanted to help her by giving her a joy, a hope, a love, a peace, a
life that would last forever.
She
questioned how he, a Jew, could ask her, a Samaritan, for a drink. He replied, “If
you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you or a drink, you would have
asked him and he would have given you living water.”
She
wondered where he could get this water when the well they stood at was so deep
and he had nothing to draw water with. He answered, “Everyone who drinks this water
will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never
thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.”
“Sir,
give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to
draw water,” she said to him.
He
knew though, that she needed so much more quenched than her physical thirst for
water. She didn’t realize her need for living water to satisfy her spirit.
He
told her to go get her husband and come back, but she replied that she had no
husband. “You are right when you say you have no husband,” he said to her. “The
fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your
husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
She
thought him a prophet and began to ask questions of the correct place to worship
since the proper place to worship was not agreed upon by the Jews and
Samaritans. Again, the man spoke of something more important than the physical
realm. “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father
seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Then
he revealed himself to her as the Messiah, the Christ. Jesus himself was
speaking to this woman who lived a life of shame.
His
disciples returned from an errand they had been running, and the conversation
was interrupted. The woman went back to town, leaving her water jar behind, but
she didn’t run away in shame. She left excited to tell everyone about the man
who knew everything about her and who had revealed himself to her as the
Messiah.
She
brought the people to Jesus, and he agreed to their request to stay a couple of
days. When the people heard the words that Jesus spoke, many of them believed in
him as the Savior of the world.
You
can read this beautiful love story in John 4:1-42, and you too can accept His
invitation to drink and be satisfied.
We
have a deep desire that can’t be satisfied by anything here on earth because we
were made for something more. What are you trying to quench that thirst with? If you’re tired of drinking only to be thirsty
again, drink of him.
He
knows everything about you, yet he still loves you and wants to reveal himself
to you as the Savior of the world. When you accept his gift of forgiveness and
surrender to his Lordship, his Spirit will dwell in you. Your life will be
forever changed as the Spirit gives you wisdom, strength, peace, transformation
and hope of eternal life in a perfect place with the perfect Savior who loves
you more perfectly than anyone ever could.
How has your encounter with Jesus
affected you, and what impact has that encounter made on the lives of others?
So many are thirsty for something they don’t even know exists. Share the Good
News with them so they too can drink the water he gives. Help them to know this
man who is different.
My husband and I celebrate thirty-one years of marriage today. It seems like only yesterday that we were two kids starting our adventure together but at the same time seems like we’ve been together forever.
We’ve been through a lot. We’ve experienced for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. We’ve laughed, cried, celebrated, mourned, embraced and fought.
Our marriage hasn’t been perfect. In fact, it hasn’t always been easy. We haven’t always agreed. There have been times that we’ve hurt each other. We’ve seen each other at our very worst. On rare occasions, we’ve threatened to part ways.
Yet, here we are, thirty-one years later with a marriage that is stronger than ever. How did we make it this far? We made a commitment to each other and to God, and we are not willing to break it no matter how difficult things get.
For thirty-one years, God has been the glue that holds us together through the good, the bad and the ugly. As we relied on God through the difficult times, He taught us what true love is.
True love is more than a feeling. True love is an action. It’s choosing to love someone even when they’re unlovable. God has taught us to love each other with the same love that Jesus has for us. The perfect love of Jesus is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Jesus loves us with that kind of love. He loved us when we were sinful and evil. We deserved death. Yet He took on the punishment for our sin and died in our place so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life with Him in heaven. We do not deserve His love, but He loves us anyway. This is the love that we must love everyone with. This is the love that makes a marriage work.
This is something we didn’t really understand when we were married back in 1987. But as we each grew in our relationships with Christ, His love, His ways, His plans, His calling and His purpose for us became clearer.
Together, we have learned to work as a team with God as the coach. And our love for Him and for each other grows deeper and deeper as time goes by.
God has blessed us through the years in ways far greater than we ever could have asked or imagined. He has blessed us with far more than we need and far more than we deserve.
I am thankful for the wonderful memories that we share, but I am also thankful for the difficult times and the struggles that we have overcome. I am thankful for a God who gives us mercy, grace, wisdom and a love that endures. I am thankful for a godly husband who loves me at my worst and a God who continues to be the glue that holds us together.
It’s not about the wrapping paper or if the gift gets wrapped at all. It’s not about what’s inside the box. It’s about the motivation. It’s about the love that prompted the giver to search for a meaningful gift that would make recipient feel special and loved. It’s about the love that comes from our Father and enables us to love like Him.
Let us love each other with the same love manifested when Jesus died on the cross for our sin. It is a love that isn’t dependent on whether or not the recipient is lovable or worthy. It is a selfless love that comes from our obedience to God’s commands. Let us love with the love of Christ regardless of how we are being loved.
I am ever thankful for a God who loved me enough to die for me. I am thankful that when I gave my life to him, he sent his Spirit to live in me. I am thankful that his Spirit enables me to love others with the same love in which he loves me. I am ever thankful to know and experience his love which is the greatest most perfect love there is. I am thankful that my life is forever changed because of him.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” ~1 John 4:7-12
I looked down and saw a small hand reaching out to me with a paper poinsettia. “This is for you.” I had never met the little boy before. “Are you sure that you want me to have it?” I asked. He grinned and nodded. “Thank you so much! It’s beautiful,” I said as I placed the sparkly green pipe cleaner ring attached to the flower around my finger.
My heart was touched. I had no relationship with this adorable little boy who had come to class ready to offer me his sweet gift. I had shown him no affection or done anything to deserve this act of love.
At the end of the day, I got to talk with this little boy and get to know him better as he waited for his dad to pick him up after school. We became friends quickly and have gotten to spend more time together during the two visits I have made since that trip. That little boy will always have a special place in my heart and in my prayers.
The gesture he made on the day I met him reminds me of God’s unconditional love for me as well. Even before I had a relationship with God, He prepared a beautiful gift for me. Before I was even born, He had this grand plan to send His Son as a sacrifice for me. I had shown him no affection or done anything to deserve this act of love. Yet, he was ready to offer me this amazing gift and initiate a relationship with me. God has won my heart and blessed me with an intimate relationship with Him through Jesus. He loves you as well. If you do not have a relationship with Him but recognized the gift that He is offering to you, accept His overwhelming gift of love.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~Romans 5:8
I was 19, and he was almost 23. We hadn’t even known each other a year. We met in the middle of January, were engaged in May and married at the beginning of November in 1987. We couldn’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together. We were in love.
Life was an exciting adventure in the beginning. However, we quickly found out that there were a lot of things we didn’t know about each other. In fact, we discovered that we were pretty different and really didn’t have much in common. We even learned that the person who we married wasn’t perfect.
We didn’t truly understand when we first got married, what it really means to have Jesus at the center of our individual lives and at the center of our marriage. Because of this, we struggled and fought for a long time. The only reason that we have made it through 30 years of marriage is that we have stayed committed to God and to each other.
As we grew closer to God over the years, we also grew closer to each other. God taught us to love each other with the same love that Jesus loves us with, and that has made all the difference. The love of Jesus is a love that isn’t dependent on whether or not the recipient is lovable or worthy. It is a selfless love that comes from obedience to God’s commands. Some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples before dying on the cross were, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13). We are to love with the love of Christ regardless of the other person’s behavior. Learning this truth has made a huge difference.
Over the past 30 years, we have experienced many happy times, but there have also been some times of differences & struggles. I am thankful not only for the good times but also for the bad because it was the difficult times that brought us closer together and taught us what true love is.
Today I am thankful for a husband who has stayed committed to me through my good, my bad & my ugly. I love Sam even more than I did 30 years ago when I thought my love for him was complete but didn’t truly understand the depth of love that is possible through Jesus. I am also thankful for a God, who taught us that “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
God has blessed us over the years in ways far greater than we could ever have asked or imagined. We have been blessed with good career and ministry opportunities and four of the most amazing children in the world. He has always blessed us with more than we need and far more than we deserve. Our greatest blessing of all is Jesus and his unconditional love.
I sifted through the photos, and my daughter used them to make decorations. One of the photos I came across was a precious picture of Mom and Dad dancing when Mom was crowned homecoming queen. Jessica captioned it with, “Dance like no one is watching; it’s just you and me.” That’s how it started—just the two of them, probably not realizing that they were being watched by those around them. Over the years, however, they were making an impact. Mom and Dad showed me and many others what true love is.
The homecoming queen graduated and got married. Her husband was drafted into the army, and then he left for boot camp. He was allowed a short trip home when his first daughter (That would be me!) was born. Then he was sent to Vietnam. It must have been hard on the young couple to be separated, especially with a new baby. They weathered the storm by exchanging letters and photos and praying a lot of prayers as God took care of them until Dad’s time of service ended. Within a few years of dad coming home, their family grew to five with two active daughters and a very busy son. Dad worked hard at the car lot while Mom worked hard at home.
Vietnam wasn’t the only difficulty that would arise in their life together. Before Mom was even 30, she lost her own mom to cancer. She took care of Grandma while also trying to take care of three little kids. Mom battled cancer herself 15 years ago, and Dad has spent his share of time in the hospital over the past couple of years. Of course, we three kids and ten grandkids have given them several challenges over the years as well. They have definitely experienced what it meant when they vowed, “for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” While Mom and Dad did what they needed to do to take care of us through whatever life brought, they were teaching us what true love is, whether they realized it or not.
As Mom and Dad’s 50th anniversary approached this year, my siblings and I worked together with our spouses and children on planning a celebration. As I worked on decorations and refreshments in the evenings, I thought of the times in my childhood that I’d wake up in the middle of the night to see Mom decorating our birthday cakes. I also remembered how Mom always made sure that we had a special outfit for Easter Sunday and the Christmas programs. There were many times that Mom sat at the sewing machine while everyone else slept. She was up into the wee hours of the morning sometimes, putting the finishing touches on our new clothes that people would always compliment us on when they saw us the next day. I can also remember dad working hard after hours with customers but always coming home to see us over lunch and also finding time to spend his coffee break with us at the Fischer’s Hi-Boy down the road from the car lot. Mom and Dad worked hard, but they always made time for what was important, and we kids felt loved.
Dad and Mom taught us that time was way more important than money. Mom didn’t have a job outside the home to bring in extra income when we were young. Instead, she chose to spend as much time as she could, pouring into her children and home. Because she was home, we always had delicious home-cooked meals and often had fresh baked cookies waiting for us when we got home from school. She always had time to listen and also took time to read to us, help us with homework and play with us. She found time to lead my Girl Scout troop, teach Vacation Bible School and help us learn the importance of serving as she towed us around while she delivered Meals on Wheels to the elderly.
Being a single-income home meant that my parents also had to budget differently than households where both parents worked. They taught us kids to spend our money wisely. Investing in people was more important than investing in things. The memories we made going on our yearly family vacations, trips to fair and visits to the zoo are the happiest of memories. I remember riding the Scrambler with my dad, holding my mom’s hand at the zoo while a balloon with a picture of a chimpanzee was tied around my wrist, riding through the mountains of Tennessee in our 1964 red Rambler and watching the movie from the back seat at the drive inn and eating the popcorn mom had popped, but I couldn’t tell you what brand of blue jeans or tennis shoes I wore. I just know that I always had nice, clean clothes that fit, plenty of food and never lacked for anything. I felt safe and loved. Mom and Dad knew what was the most important.
We kids definitely learned from Mom and Dad that spending time together is important. We always ate our meals together around the table. They taught us to give thanks to God before eating, and then we always talked and laughed as we ate. My sister and I often spent extra quality time sitting together at the table and staring at our cold food if there was broccoli or creamed corn, but that too created some happy memories.
Dad and Mom also taught us patience by their own example. One of dad’s favorite things to do was to fish, and he often took us kids out in the boat. Dad would watch us cast our line and tell us to wait until we felt a fish tug or until we saw our bobber go under. However we would get impatient and reel it back in if we didn’t get a bite right away. Repeatedly casting and reeling our line in of course caused us to lose our bait, and Dad would spend most of his time helping us bait our hooks rather than catching the monster fish he was after. I was also very good at casting my bait into the trees on the bank. Over and over, Dad would troll to the shore to retrieve my hook from the tree. Shortly after, my sister would snag something under the water, and dad would have to help her break free as well. Then someone would whine that they needed to go to the bathroom or ask if they could dangle their feet over the edge. Through it all, Dad remained patient and somehow never lost his temper.
Mom’s patience was tested as well while we kids created messes, got into arguments and complained that we were bored with nothing to do. On top of all the shopping, cooking, laundry, cleaning and sewing, she also patiently taught us responsibility. It would have been much faster for Mom to clean up all of our messes and separate us when we fought, but she wanted us to become responsible adults. The simple chores that she started us with such as picking up our toys, doing the dishes or dusting could take us hours as we complained, piddled around or got distracted playing, but Mom would persist in making sure we got it done rather than giving into our whining and doing it for us. She also taught us to work out our differences with each other along the way so that we would understand how to work out our differences with other people. This took a lot more time and patience than simply breaking up our fights and punishing us so that we’d get along. I’m sure there were days that she was so frustrated with our lack of cooperation, but she patiently helped us to grow and mature.
Of all the things that my parents taught us through their example, the most important one was how to follow Jesus. Mom and Dad took us to church every Sunday. Dad was a deacon and Mom volunteered with communion, the ladies’ ministry and the children. Some of my sweetest memories of my dad are the times that I walked in and catch him reading his Bible. My mom taught me the importance of praying and sharing my struggles with the One who could fix it. They taught us right and wrong and set the example themselves of how to live out what we knew in our heads.
Just as we kids were looking to Mom and Dad, others were looking to them as well. Mom and Dad always put others first. They were parents not just to us, but to our friends. Mom got help for one of my friends who was in an abusive home and hugged on my friends who needed it. Dad gave people rides across town and gave money for gasoline, groceries and medicine when people were short on cash. They let people come in to use the phone, listened to their problems, took meals, helped watch others’ kids and helped with repairs. I remember one winter when Dad even gave away his only coat away because someone else didn’t have one.
So, yesterday, when we surprised Mom and Dad with a celebration for their 50th wedding anniversary the was room filled with too many people to count. Still it was only a fraction of the lives they touched over the years. Sadly, we couldn’t invite every single one of their friends and family because we just couldn’t have fit them into the building. So many people told us how special Mom and Dad are and that they wouldn’t miss their celebration for anything. Over their 50 years together, my parents have touched the lives of many, many people, but especially mine. I am so thankful that God blessed me with such wonderful parents, and I am proud to be their daughter. My prayer for them yesterday was that they would feel special and loved as friends and family came to celebrate, and my prayer for them today is that God will continue to bless them in ways bigger than they could ask or imagine. I have truly been blessed with the best parents in the world!
What is the true meaning of Memorial Day? Ask any Gold Star family and they’ll tell you what it means. It’s not about the picnics. It’s about the men and women who have given their lives for this country. Every day is Memorial Day to us.” These words belong to Carol Resh, Gold Star mother whose son, Army Captain Mark Resh was killed in Iraq a decade ago.
I am humbled today as we remember those who died serving our country. Over the years, millions of men and women have committed to serving our nation, and over a million have given their lives so that we could have freedom and security. I did nothing to deserve the blessings that have come because of their selfless acts. It is hard for me to understand why these heroes are willing to risk everything, but I am so thankful to them. I am touched and humbled by these heroes.
At the same time, my heart breaks for the moms, dads, wives, husbands, children, siblings and friends of those who went to battle but didn’t return home. Their lives changed forever as they grieve for their loved ones; our lives changed forever because they saw a greater purpose and gave all they had to achieve it.
May we never take for granted our freedom and safety. These men and women served knowing that they may die fighting for the cause. The price was so high. Their lives were cut short, but their impact lasts through the ages.
This stanza in Moina Michael’s poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” says it well,
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.”
She is right. These men & women did not die in vain; their blood never dies. Let us never forget these heroes.
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I am humbled today not only as I remember those who laid down their lives serving our country but also for Jesus who died in my place.
You see, God created us in his image and loves us with an everlasting love. However, we sinned, and sin separates us from God. Romans 6:23 tells us that “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus came to earth knowing that He would have to lay down his own life to conquer sin and death so that we could be made right again with God. He knew what was ahead before He was wrongly accused, mocked, spit upon, beaten and slain. Yet He was willing to give his all so that my sin could be forgiven and I could have eternal life. Again, I did nothing to deserve this. Romans 5:6-8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We were bought with a price.
This is not something we remember just today. This is not something we only reflect upon when we take communion. Every day is Memorial Day to us. May we never take for granted the sacrifice that Jesus made so that we could live eternally in heaven with him.
As I watched “The Passion of the Christ” with my high school students on Good Friday, I was hit pretty hard. I watched with a heart that broke as Jesus was mocked, spit upon and beaten. I could barely hold back my tears as I saw his flesh cut into and torn as he was whipped. I was deeply convicted as the nails were hammered into his hands. He was innocent; he didn’t deserve any cruelty. It was my sin that drove the whips and hammer, but it was his obedience and love that compelled him to suffer and willingly give his life to take away that sin. His suffering and death paid the price for every single one of my sins, every single one of your sins and every single sin that has ever been or ever will be committed.
When my husband and I got married, our minister gave us a poster with “the love passage” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). It was the first thing I saw when I got out of bed each morning and that last thing I saw as I laid down to sleep each night. Sadly, I didn’t really understand the fullness of the message that is so often read to brides and grooms. The tragic thing is that when I read the beautiful words, the only things that came to my mind were the ways I thought my husband wasn’t loving me. I would get upset because I didn’t feel like I was being loved the way I was supposed to.
One day, I was reading through the verses, having a pretty good pity party and pointing out to God the ways that my husband wasn’t loving me. That’s when God gently pointed out to me that I wasn’t living up to that passage. I had never questioned my love for my husband. I thought I was doing a great job. That day, however, God opened my eyes to see that I was definitely keeping “a record of wrong” and I was also “self-seeking.” Furthermore, when I didn’t think my husband was treating me right, I would retaliate. When the Holy Spirit convicted me, those words I had read over and over became life-changing to me. I finally realized that the great “love passage” not written to tell me how I should be loved; those words were written to tell me how I should love.
The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is the same love manifested when Jesus died on the cross for my sin. It is a love that isn’t dependent on whether or not the recipient is lovable or worthy. It is a selfless love that comes from our obedience to God’s commands. Some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples before dying on the cross were, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13).
I am to love with the love of Christ regardless of how I am being loved. Learning this truth has made a huge difference in my life. Just as Jesus laid down his life for me, I too am to lay down my life. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
I am ever thankful for a God who loved me enough to die for me. I am thankful that when I gave my life to him, he sent his Spirit to live in me. I am thankful that his Spirit enables me to love others with the same love in which he loves me. I am ever thankful to know and experience his love which is the greatest most perfect love there is. I am thankful that my life is forever changed because of him.