Life Spark: Find out more about who ‘the I Am’ is. (John 4:19-26)
The Bible says that all things were created by Christ and find their purpose in Him. This Samaritan woman didn’t see Jesus as Creator yet, but she did see Him as a man sent by God. That’s a start. ”Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.” (John 4:19, NIV)
This thirsty lady began to perceive signs of life that were pointing to Jesus. Who He was began to dawn on her. People receive different amounts of revelation light, and each of us will be judged according to the light that shined on us.
The woman said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” (John 4:25-26, NIV) Feeling exposed by Jesus’ prophetic search light, the woman turned the conversation to religion. Jesus blocked her detour, and turned the conversation back to relationship.
The gospel of John quotes Jesus as making many amazing “I am” claims. Here he said, “I am the Messiah that you have been hoping for.” The woman began to understand who He was. Proverbs says understanding is a wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 16:22) Understanding the identity of Jesus is a well of aliveness. It is the key to living better and living forever.
Years ago, a young man from India tried to convince me that his Indian guru was a Christ-man. He said “The Spirit of Christ that was on Jesus is also on my Maharaja.” I invited him to go to church with me, and promised to reciprocate and go with him if he so desired. Surprisingly, he went to church, and declaring boldly that there are many different paths to God, he marched to the front row.
In the middle of the worship service, he spun around and fell to the ground back first. God pinned him to the ground. He was terrified. The service stopped. People thought he’d had a heart attack. Finally ushers pried him off the floor. When we talked after the service, it was obvious that he would be taking another look at just who Jesus is.
Jesus is still introducing people to life, to Himself. It’s wonderful when you realize, as the Samaritan woman did, that you are face to face with ‘I Am.’
Life-action: Close your eyes for 60 seconds, then open them and note the first four colors you see. Thank God for physical sight and spiritual sight.