John 4:10 “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’”
Jesus basically tells the Samaritan woman if she knew…she would have asked…and he would have given. That passage makes me wonder how well I know the gift of God. I don’t want to someday look back on my life with the regretful mourning of if I’d only known—if I’d only known the intensity of his love; if I’d only known the accessibility of his power; if I’d only known the certainty of his faithfulness.
I want more than touching the hem of his garment.
This Christmas season as we observe his entry on earth, I’m making it my aim to recognize him in the celebration. When I sit next to my Christmas tree in the early morning hours I want to let him remind me of his beauty. When I receive a Christmas card I want to realize that it’s his grace that has given me friends who are dear. When I light my Yankee Candle, I want to remember how prayer is a sweet fragrance to him. When I hear the strains of “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” I want to be made aware that he has been here all along.
God went to a lot of trouble to make himself visible so we would know the one we worship. And even though the incarnate Christ no longer walks among us, he still delights in making himself known. The charge against the Samaritan woman was that she “worshiped what she did not know.” May that not be said of us. I’m praying that we detect him in the midst of our holiday activities….Maybe in a candlelight service, maybe in a child’s delight on Christmas morning, maybe in the warmth of an unexpected act of kindness.
Immanuel has come…so we might know.