Fruit: Closer In (blog)

For years I drove right by a field of blueberry bushes and never saw the fruit waiting to be harvested there. I did see the farmer's market across the street, but didn't connect the two. Then one July my daughters wanted to go berry picking, and in our search we 'discovered' the field of fruit I had been passing by. Even at the market, it wasn't until the owner supplied us with baskets and pointed the way across the street that we saw bushes. After walking a ways into the field we saw signs of fruit, but we had to actually get in between the rows of bushes to be sure we'd found the blueberries. Recognizing berries ripe enough to pick sometimes required us to go further, pressing in among the branches of an individual bush. In this blog series I've been writing about how Jesus urged his disciples to look closer at what they weren't seeing in the Samaritan town of Sychar - 'fruit' that was "ripe for harvest" (John 4:35).  Jesus was talking about a spiritual harvest, of people ready to believe in him as their Savior. I wonder, how many times had the disciples passed by along the outskirts of Sychar before that day when their teacher stopped them at the well, where he rested while they went into the town center to buy food? They went in and came out, and still didn't see the people's readiness to believe. The disciples needed to get closer in to see it.  But how? I'm guessing the Savior of the world knew that a Samaritan woman was on her way to draw water from the well that day. Finding a crowd of men there might have intimidated her. To get himself and his followers closer into this community, Jesus needed to start there with the woman by engaging her in one-on-one conversation. And how did the Savior of the world do this?  By asking her a simple question: "Will you give me a drink?" (v. 4:7) The woman's immediate response doesn't hint of fruit to me: "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (v. 4:9).  She obviously didn't see the potential for harvest either, but pointed to the invisible ethnic and gender wall between them. If it had been me trying to engage this woman, that would have ended the conversation. But look at how Jesus gets himself closer in by responding to her with good news: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (v. 4:10) And so the conversation continued, with the woman reminding Jesus of the wall between them and Jesus responding with good news: 'you need never thirst again'...'I know your life story and I care about you'...'The worship God seeks is spiritual and breaks down walls'...'I know you have been waiting for a Savior'......"I who speak to you am he." (v. 4:26) As Jesus pressed further and further in with good news, he was able to see that the woman was ready to not only give him a drink but to give him her life as well. She even ran to tell other people about Jesus! What signs of "ripeness" did Jesus see in the woman? I'm praying about that, and I'm going to look even more closely next week at the words shared between them, to see what they reveal. In the meantime, I'm curious to know what your conversations with family and friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates, and others are revealing. What good news are the people around you ready and needing to hear?  That someone cares about them and is ready to listen? That there is a God who knows and loves them, and is on their side?  That Jesus came to save them and give them new life? Post a comment, share a story...