The woman left with her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come see a Man who told me everything I have ever done’ (
It is a wonderful thing to be known. We are always elated with people remember us or when others are able to recall our names. Yet there is also an anxious side to being known—especially when it comes to God.
As the woman of Samaria realized, Jesus knew everything about her: her faults, her sins, her history, her failures. Yet, there was something life-giving and healing about being known by Jesus, too.
Anyone involved in youth ministry can identify with this story. We attempt, each week, to help teenagers find a connection with Christ; but at the same time we often can feel ourselves becoming dry, anxious or tired. Sometimes those who lead youth ministry can become discouraged. Others may lapse into addictions or find themselves in morally compromised places.
We cannot forget that in our willingness and desire to lead people we also need to be led. We need the strength, support and forgiveness of God just as much as our teenagers do. So, it is important that we also partake of the life-giving water. We need periods of rest, periods of refreshment. We need to take time to refuel and remain accountable and rest in God’s grace.
As each of us looks back on ministry, we need to remain humble in our successes, encouraged in our failures and strengthened in our resolve to continue the work of Christ. Sometimes our greatest witness is not in what we do but in who we are. We dare not forget this. Wonderful things happen in ministry when our source of strength remains in Christ.
