“But Jesus HAD to go through Samaria…”

Have you ever been called a slut? Have you ever been disrespected by a man because he saw you as a thing and not a person? Even though we live in a free country there continues to be a lot of negative attitudes towards women. We have all experienced this but dancers understand this more than most girls. The same attitudes existed about 2000 years ago when Jesus lived. In fact, in that time men didn’t even speak to women in public. Period. Women were just dirty temptresses to them. In that world and in this world Jesus stands out because the way he treats women is completely different from all the men around him.

In his journeys Jesus walked a lot and on one of his walks he meets a woman at a well. This woman has been with a lot of men, she might even be the local prostitute. Because of this she is an outcast in her community. She has to go to the well to get water in the middle of the day when  no one else is there because the desert sun is at its hottest. All of her potential neighborhood girlfriends went in the morning when it was cooler. Jesus talks to her about her life and who he is. During their convo Jesus’ man friends arrive and they are surprised to see him talking to a woman, especially a woman like her.

But Jesus doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about this woman, or about women in general. He doesn’t care that people will spread nasty rumors about him for talking to her. Jesus did not talk to her to lecture her or make her feel guilty. He welcomes her and speaks to her tenderly and respectfully. He tells her that he came to give her “living water” or water that is much better than the water they are getting from the well. This is his way of saying that she can live forever with God. He wants this woman, who has been rejected by everyone else, to be a part of his family.

It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done or what you are doing now. You are loved by Jesus. If you are a dancer Jesus loves you, if you are a hairdresser Jesus loves you, if you are a dog-walker or a lawyer or unemployed Jesus loves you. And he wants to give you living water, he wants you to be a part of his family. He is after you, not for your body but for your heart and soul. I don’t know about you but I’ve had some bad boyfriends and I wasted a lot of time and energy on them. Making Jesus my main man, the focus of my heart, is the best thing that ever happened to me. I think its worth your time to think about Jesus, who he is and how different he is, especially towards women. He is a man like no other. He is the man of your dreams.

(If you want the full story check out the book of John in the Bible, it’s in chapter 4. No Bible? Just google it!)