John 4:7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

This question may not seem like a big deal to you. All Jesus did was ask for a drink of water. But this one small question opened a conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman that lead to the woman and many people in her town being saved.

So, why was this a big deal? Well to start, Jesus was a Jew and the woman was a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other. More than 700 years before this meeting at the well, another county, Assyria, invaded and conquered Samaria and deported most of the Jewish people that lived there. Assyria sent foreigners to Samaria to settle the land and help keep the peace. The intermarriage between those foreigners and the remaining Jews resulted in a mixed race. The “pure” Jews hated this mixed race called the Samaritans because they felt that their fellow Jews who had intermarried had betrayed their people and nation.

Secondly, the woman was alone. Women did not typically go to the well alone. Twice each day, in the morning and the evening, women would come to the well to draw water. Yet this woman came alone around noon. Why? Probably to avoid the other women that knew her reputation. They did not accept her or want to be around her because she had been married 5 times and was currently living with a man that was not her husband. So, she risked her own safety to avoid the other women and went to the well alone.

She was an outcast woman of an outcast nation. But despite that, Jesus spoke to her. Jesus spoke to the woman because the gospel is for everyone, no matter what your race, social position, or past sins. Jesus crossed all barriers to share the gospel and we must be willing to do the same thing. We must be willing to start a conversation with a friend, a neighbor, our children or even a stranger. Just a simple question can open the door to Jesus.

Dear Lord, please give us the courage to step outside our comfort zone and start a conversation with one of your children. Open our eyes to see who you are putting in our path and use the opportunity to share the gospel. Amen