Life Spark: Don’t be surprised if Jesus surprises you. John 4:27-28
When they returned from town with their Big Macs and fries, the disciples were “surprised” (John 4:27, NIV). “Shocked” (The Message) to find Jesus in dialog with a Samaritan woman. I wonder how many times in the three years they traveled with him the twelve were surprised by where Jesus went, what He said, or what He did?
I had been a struggling Christian for about a year. I remember exactly where I was sitting in church after a frustrating week and whispering in my soul to God, “I can’t live the Christian life!” The statement that came into my mind from the outside shocked me: “Good. I’m glad you realize that … (long pause) … Let me live my life through you.” That’s the last thing I would have imagined God saying to me.
I asked one guy two weeks ago if he’d ever been surprised by God. He thought a minute and said, “Yes”. “How?” I asked. “When He spoke to me through my wife.”
So now we have thirteen surprised people. She’s surprised that Jesus struck up a conversation with her. She’s surprised that He knows about her and her desires and her life. The twelve, once again, are scratching their heads regarding the Lord’s words and deeds. Not only were they surprised but “their faces showed it.” (John 4:27, MSG) Stop a minute and picture in your mind what their faces looked like when they showed it. Imagine being Jesus and looking at their faces. Now imagine being the woman and seeing shock, surprise, disgust in their faces. Do it. Close your eyes. Get in the story.
I have a correction collar (a nice name for shock collar) for my hunting dog, Deez. He is very strong-willed. It didn’t seem to be working. I called the company. I had lost the tester, and I asked them how I could test it. They said “Turn it all the way down to 1 and put your finger across the two prods and press the button. Well, I’d accidently turned it all the way up to 10. When I hit the button it just about knocked me out of my chair. I dropped the cell phone on the floor. (Dog lovers are smiling.)
Maybe it was a little like that for this lady. She dropped her water jar and hustled into town. She spread her surprise. Many people from this Samaritan town were about to be surprised by this Jew named Jesus. Some of them would probably even be shocked. What’s my point? Be ready to be surprised by Life, be ready to be surprised by Jesus.
A life-question: Can you think of a time when you were surprised, or even shocked, by God?