Joyful Testimony

Read John 4:1-39

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in [Jesus] because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."
-John 4:39 (NIV)

SOMETIMES I hesitate to talk about God with those around me. Feeling inadequate, I wonder how I can explain that Jesus is alive and loves us deeply. Arguing will not persuade them of the truth. Today's reading showed me how one woman successfully shared the good news about Jesus.

Quite simply, the woman at the well could not hide her excitement. "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did," she exclaimed, eager for others to get to know him, too. Instead of a clever argument, she enthusiastically described her meeting with the Savior, making him real to those who listened. Because of that woman's testimony, many Samaritans in her town believed in Jesus.

So when I struggle to find the right words, I think of the Samaritan woman and remind myself that I can simply explain that God knows all about me -- the good and the bad -- and still loves and accepts me. Why would I make sharing the gospel more complicated than this? No amount of clever arguments will win hearts as much as will our communicating the joy of knowing God -- and the joy of God's knowing all about us and loving us anyway.

Emma J. Peterson (Buckinghamshire, England)