June 20
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THE GIFT OF BELIEVING
39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”– John 4:39-42
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John continues to expound on the miracle of the Samaritan woman at the well in the following verses. Notice that most of those people who are recipients of the miracles of Jesus were unnamed: the healing of the widow’s son, the royal official’s son in Capernaum, the paralytic at Bethesda, the blind man at Bethsaida, the boy at the feeding the feeding the 5000 who gave his one piece of bread and fish that Jesus multiplied. It is immaterial who receives the miracle. The important thing is who performs the signs and wonders, Jesus himself.
In John 20:30-31 says that “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
We witness another radical change that Jesus did when He approached a Samaritan woman at the well. He broke the long tradition of Jews not speaking with the Samaritans. He didn’t care about the laws and rules created by man because He is above them. He is God himself. The gift of salvation was not only for the Jews but for mankind. It is interesting how the Samaritans responded to the declaration of the woman at the well when she said that Jesus was the Messiah. They all believed and wanted Jesus to stay in their town. It was a miracle, a gift from our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, we see many people who won’t even care to receive the gift of believing. They reject Jesus, just like the Pharisees and Scribes did. “To believe that Jesus is the Son of God” is to have access to eternal life. We are given a choice to accept or reject the greatest act of love by God, to believe that Jesus is His son so that we may have eternal life with Him.
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REFLECTION
• What do you think the source of unbelief is?
• Why do some Christians manifest unbelief in their lives even though they claim that they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior?