OUTCASTS

I want to believe that I’m not prejudice. People are people regardless of their race, nationality, economic level, or anything else. Yet if we are all honest with ourselves we notice people who are different from ourselves. We must choose to break out of our comfort zone and welcome such people into our circle of friends lest we begin to build walls that would separate us from such individuals just because they are different. Unless we are building relational bridges, we are adding to a wall of prejudice.

Prejudice is not anything new. It has been around a long, long time.

• Now he had to go through Samaria.
  John 4:4 NIV

The orthodox Jew of Jesus’ day would avoid Samaria because of their deep seeded hatred for these half-breeds—part Jew and part Gentile. The division was so great that the Samaritans established their own place of worship at Mount Gerizim which only added to the hostilities between the two groups.

Jesus was on His way from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north. Samaria was right in the middle of the two. Three routes were possible for this journey. Most Jews would chose to either travel west going up along the Mediterranean coast, or to travel east making their way up along the Jordan River. Jesus chose the third path—straight north through Samaria.

Jesus had to go this way. He was on a divine time schedule. The Father had arranged for Jesus to meet a woman at Jacob’s well. As a result of this encounter this woman and many others within the village would put their faith in Jesus. Jesus resisted the Jewish prejudice and built a bridge for these people to make a connection with God.

Sometimes we might feel like one of these Samaritans. We believe that we are an outcast, unwanted. We try to might even make our way to God, but we are always reminded that we are not good enough. Our hands are dirty. We’ve been to the wrong places and hung out with the wrong people. And so we go through the routine of life, burying our hurts. The devil has us trapped right where he wants us—alone in our Samaria.

Jesus won’t listen to Satan’s lies that saying that you and I are outcasts. Jesus knows we are sinners. He knows every time we have failed. He saw us each time we tried to make our way to God through our human efforts. But Jesus also knows where we live, and He has to make His way to our front door. Jesus does not see us as outcasts but loves us just the way we are. What do you think?