Jesus never grows tired of me.
Can I tell you how comforting that is to me? I’m a lot to take in for some people. A friend once told me that I made her hair hurt. Another one asked if she was moving in slow motion or was I in fast forward. I even had my boss tell me once that my enthusiasm was just too much for some people. (I'm guessing these aren’t my people)
Jesus, though, He never tires of my enthusiasm. He is right beside me regardless of how fast I’m moving or talking. I don’t make Jesus’ hair hurt!
I love the story of the Samaritan woman. She was too much for some people. So much so, that she had to go to the well in the heat of the day so she didn’t have to deal with the looks and probably some gossip.
Jesus didn’t care though. Their meeting was a divine appointment. He even sent his disciples on errands so He could speak with her alone. He knew everything about her, including her colorful past, but He wanted to meet her, anyway.
The woman challenged Jesus, even got a little sarcastic. Jesus didn’t care. He met her right where she was, but she left their appointment better. She accepted Him just the way He was too when so many others didn’t.
Have you ever felt like you just didn’t fit in with a certain group? Maybe you were too much for them or didn’t meet the expectation they wanted. I lived in Japan for three years and I spent a whole lot of time not fitting in.
School is practically year-round in Japan, but the students get August off. However, they did have homework they had to complete every day. It’s hot and humid in August where we lived, so the first day of summer break I let my kids go out to play right after breakfast. I figured they could do homework after lunch when it was hot outside. Apparently, there are rules about when to do homework, because 3 moms came to tell me the children were not to go outside until after 11 am because they needed to do their studies. I was politely chastised for disrupting the entire neighborhood.
Here’s the good news, we don’t have to work to fit in with Jesus. He knew us before we were even formed in our mother’s womb, He knows the number of hairs on our head. He knows our strengths and He knows our weaknesses. He loves us regardless of those things.
That is so satisfying to my human mind. Jesus meets us right where we are! Just like he met the Samaritan woman. She was honest, she was snarky and she was curious. He does that with us too; regardless of our mood, behavior or past.
The Samaritan woman ran back to tell her people about this man who knew her so well. Friends, she told people about Jesus. That’s right, a woman with a questionable reputation became the first female evangelist, because Jesus picked her to do that.
You are never too much for Jesus. He wants to meet you where you are and leave you better!