Focus: She Left Her Waterpot (Pt.2)

Text: Jh.4:28

"The woman then LEFT her waterpot, and went her way into the city…"

Yesterday we focused on the woman of Samaria and learned how important it is to apply urgency and speed to whatever God requires of us to do. Whatever hinders you from doing God's bidding falls into the category of a waterpot. Regardless of how good your waterpot is, if it keeps you from running to do God's behest, then it has ceased to be a good thing. Nothing should stand in the way of our obedience to God, and we should be passionate about what God is passionate about.

When Christ met Peter and Andrew, we read in the Word that "they STRAIGHTWAY LEFT their NETS, and followed him" (Mt.4:20). They instantly abandoned their business tools - "nets." When Christ met James and John, we also read that "they IMMEDIATELY LEFT the SHIP and their FATHER, and followed him" (Mt.4:22). Christ, immediately, became more important to them than whatever mattered to them previously. It is interesting to read how Mark put it: "And straightway he called them: and they LEFT their FATHER Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him" (Mk.1:20). They had even hired servants who were employees of the Family Company.

Following Christ is demanding, but it's worth it. They willingly and freely left something to follow Christ. Christ said, "Follow me," and they quickly followed Him, leaving behind things of great importance. One time as they followed Him, Peter said, "Lo, we have LEFT ALL, and have followed thee" (Mk.10:28). They didn't just leave a thing behind; they actually left everything.

There's something compelling and propelling about Christ. He charms people with the power of truth and the aura of grace. He exuded a heavenly fragrance that is beyond human description. No one is ever forced or coerced to follow. Something in them met what they had ever longed for. They saw the reality of their lifelong dreams in Jesus.

Listen to Paul: "But what things were GAIN to me, those I counted LOSS for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I COUNT ALL THINGS but LOSS for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the LOSS OF ALL THINGS, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Phil.3:7,8). He introduces into our lives, not just a paradigm shift, but a new paradigm. Christ moves us from the mundane to the sublime, from the known to the unknown, from the immediate to the ultimate, from time to eternity, from the relative to the absolute, from the abstract to the concrete, from the visible to the invisible, from the tangible to the intangible, and from the realm of uncertainties to eternal verities. He is the presence of mystery, majesty, and might. You can't know Him once without wanting to know Him more and more. He takes us from one level of glory to another.

For Paul, knowing Christ deeper and higher was his only priority. Every other thing took the backseat. He incurred losses for the sake of knowing Christ and doing His bidding.

Hear me: serving Christ comes with temporal losses, but you will never lose permanently the 'waterpot' you left behind (and the ones you keep leaving behind) for Christ's sake. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself assures us of that. He says, "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath LEFT house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall RECEIVE an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life" (Mk.10:29,30). His word settles it. The gains of following and serving Christ is huge, regardless of what you may stand to lose for now. Our Lord will ultimately reimburse us for every dime spent in His name. Christ is worth more than anything you could leave behind to follow Him.

I pray: may your spiritual fire be reignited! May you feel the passion and warmth of Christ in your soul! May nothing be of stronger value to you than Christ and His church! When the need arises for you to leave or invest anything for Christ's sake, may you have the grace to go the whole mile with a smile! Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter