Thought for July 7

 History:

• 1754: King's College opens in NYC--later Columbia University
• 1802: First comic book, "The Wasp"
• 1865: Lincoln assassins hung
• 1912: Jim Thorpe wins Olympic Pentathlon [won 4 of 5 events]
• 1928: Sliced bread sold for the first time
• 1930: Construction of Hoover Dam begins
• 1961: Jimmy Hoffa elected chairman of Teamsters
• 1972: First women FBI agents sworn-in
• 1980: Sharia law instituted in Iran
• 2017: Tesla produces the first Model 3
• Born: Otto Rohwedder [invented the bread slicing machine], Satchel Paige, Doc Severinson, Ringo Starr, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Sampson, Michelle Kwan, 
• Died: Mary Surratt, Henri Nestle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bill Cullen, 

Thought:

Well, finally completing my reading of the story of the woman at the well [John 4:27-42]. After Jesus tells the woman He is Messiah, the disciples return from town and the woman goes to town. But the disciples notice that Jesus has been talking to the woman at the well.  Now look at the two conversations:

The disciples "marveled" that He had been talking to a Samaritan woman. A Rabbi was not supposed to talk to a woman in public and here Jesus was alone at the well speaking with this woman. But notice, although they marveled and apparently had questions about what was said, they didn't ask anything. You may have had that experience---you see a friend talking to someone that's different and you can't understand why they would have a conversation---the person was dressed funny, had funny hair and tattoos, was a different race or nationality, looked suspicious. Wonder what the disciples thought when the town came out and believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Did they then understand that Jesus came to save everyone and everyone needs to hear the Good News? 

Instead of asking about Jesus' conversation, the disciples say "eat, Rabbi." We got you some food. Like the woman and Nicodemus, the disciples focused on the physical--Jesus was talking about living water, they were talking about baked bread. They were offering bread to the Bread of Life, the one who could speak and bread for 5000 was at hand or speak and manna fell from heaven. So Jesus says I have food you don't know about--my food is to do the will of the Father and finish His work. Now here I see a truth--we are fed when we are doing God's work. All of us have gone to do ministry, help someone in need and then found that we got more blessing than we gave. Our food is doing the will of the Father and in doing we are blessed. 

Now Jesus teaches the role of the disciples. The fields are ripe for harvest, your job is reaping. In my mind as the people come from Sychar to see this man who has told the woman all about herself, Jesus looks up and sees a sea of people dressed in the normal white attire and says to the disciples--look the fields are white for harvest. Go make disciples of these that come. Back in January of 2021, I was teaching a Friday morning Bible study on this passage and told the men that Jesus might be asking us where was our field to harvest. The woman heard and went and told others and they came as a field for harvest. Each of us should be going and sowing so that many come for harvest. 

Lord, show us our field, You have provided the seed, help me go and tell for the time is short.

Blessings

Larry