“Sir, you don’t even have a bucket.”
In my family, “normal” is a setting on a washer or dryer. When my sister and I were growing up, we thought we were normal or had a normal family. It wasn’t until we would spend the night with friends that we realized that our family was NOT normal.
To this day we have some weird, off-the-wall conversations, and if you happen to walk into the middle of one, well…bless your heart.
So when I saw how Jesus started this conversation in the Bible and the confusion on the part of this woman, I thought to myself, “This is great.” For me the best part about this conversation is Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman, and He chooses to reveal to her what true worship is and will be. He chose a woman who was an outcast because she was a Samaritan considered by the Jews to be a half-breed, and an outcast because she had been married multiple times and was living with a man at the time of the conversation. And yet, this Jewish man spoke to her. It was unheard of, but so was the type of worship He revealed to her.
In John 4 Jesus asks this outcast for water. Her response was, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”
His response, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink, you would ask Him and He would give you living water.”
To which she responds, Sir, you don’t even have a bucket. In my head, I heard almost a comical tone. Um, sir, you don’t even have a bucket.” Like pointing out the obvious was necessary.
Is there someone you want to reach for the Lord? Is there someone you are praying for to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Take a page from Jesus’ playbook.
1. Be filled with the Spirit. Jesus was completely human, but He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and was completely God.
This isn’t something you can do on your own.
2. If the Spirit leads you to a place, then be present.
3. Get rid of distractions. The disciples had gone to the city to buy food. Had the disciples been there, they would have attempted to interrupt or intercede.
4. Jesus asks the woman for something she can provide. He asks for her help. This is what starts the conversation.
5. Jesus gives her all of His attention.
6. He answers her honestly.
7. He asks questions which makes her think and want to know more.
8. When the conversation turns to religious things, worship issues, He doesn’t back away from telling her the truth about her life and how it’s wrong, but He does so in love.
9. He points and tells her the right way to worship and come before God.
10. It’s a conversation that turns into a relationship. It’s a relationship that turns into a revival, and isn’t that what we all want for someone who is lost?
Look for opportunities to have weird conversations. Look for ways to introduce Jesus to others in those conversations, and watch what the Spirit can do.