Ever notice the audiences when...
Illustration
Object:
Ever notice the audiences when well-known televangelists speak? Cameras usually pan
good-looking, well-groomed, respectable-appearing folks. Those are the ones who make
ideal church members, don't they? If unsuccessful people attend, the shows' producers
make sure the cameras don't focus on them. I wonder where they would sit the woman
from Sychar. Would they give her a front row seat or a back bench?
What assignments do you give a five-times-married woman now in a relationship with a live-in? Church leaders struggle with similar dilemmas. What Jesus would have permitted her to do in a church situation leaves us speculating. It's certainly important to consider, however, that the Lord chose a woman of dubious repute to tell the people of Sychar that the world's Savior sat near their well. And she did a great job of letting them know. It's likely a mistake to assign new Christians situations where they'll be tempted. But everyone can, and should, tell others Jesus' good news.
What assignments do you give a five-times-married woman now in a relationship with a live-in? Church leaders struggle with similar dilemmas. What Jesus would have permitted her to do in a church situation leaves us speculating. It's certainly important to consider, however, that the Lord chose a woman of dubious repute to tell the people of Sychar that the world's Savior sat near their well. And she did a great job of letting them know. It's likely a mistake to assign new Christians situations where they'll be tempted. But everyone can, and should, tell others Jesus' good news.
