My sermon this weekend is the second part of “The Woman at the Well” in John 4. Two weeks ago we looked at the fact that Jesus initiated a conversation with a Samaritan woman who was a part time prostitute. Jewish men didn’t talk to woman in public, Jews hated the Samaritans and would never talk to them, and a woman with her past and reputation would be shunned, the reason she was coming to the well to get water by herself in the hottest part of the day when nobody hauled water.

Jesus purposely reached out to those who others shunned and accepted them right where they were. Because He accepted them they listened to what He had to say, and the power of Jesus words transformed them.

This week we will continue the story when Jesus’s disciples return with food and wonder what in the world Jesus is doing. He says to them, “lift up your eyes and look”. He is commanding them to pay attention to the people around them, really pay attention and look for opportunities to meet people’s needs and to make a difference in their lives.

I am guilty of being so busy, in such a hurry, self-absorbed, and indifferent that I don’t see the people around me, let alone see their needs, hurts, and sadness and try and help them. I am going to work hard at looking around at the people God sovereignly brings into my life and really noticing them.