Bare with the bending of the following story, It actually could have been delivered by the scrambled brain of a terrified reporting witness:
As Jesus approached the well in Samaria, He told his disciples "I must needs rest here awhile, you all go ahead and get supplies for our journey... but beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." this caused the disciples the normal confusion that they had come to expect when following this enigma of eternity; and they made certain that they did not go to a Bakery run by Pharisees ...
As Jesus sat resting on the ledge of the well in the heat of the day, a woman of questionable character approached the well with a large water vessel ... Apparently to fill with water, quickly, and get it back to her home without being noticed by the other locals. (What an opportunity for restoration!) When she saw Jesus at the well, she was greatly discomfited.
Jesus looked her in the eyes and raised His hand pointing to somewhere beyond and said to her "Woman, lift up your eyes unto the fields, for they are white and ready to harvest!" The woman immediately began speaking with a scowl on her face, "You, obviously being a Jew, don't expect me ... A Samaritan ... To go to work for you, what in the world?"
Jesus strengthened the resolve in the tone of His voice "I am the Door, by me if any man will enter in he shall be saved!" This caused even more consternation in the heart of the woman as she retorted, "So now you want me to buy the water of this well from you, all though Abraham our father dug this well, and up until now ... We could draw from it and drink at no charge?"
Jesus hung His head but for a moment, and then raised His gaze towards her and spoke with conviction ... "Woman, where are thine accusers?" The woman's expression was totally aghast as she blurted out ... "Now you are getting personal, is it my makeup, or my braided hair, or my perfume, or my luxurious scarlet clothing... that has given you a thorn in your posterior? The reason I get water at this extremely avoided time of day is because I don't want to run into hypocrites like you that are blocking my way to the much needed water!"
Jesus without hesitation replied "It is not meet for me to give the bread that is designated for the children of the Kingdom to dogs!" With her face reddened as the anger was rushing blood to the capillaries of her NOW impudent face, she shouted back, "Hey ... The worship that Abraham set up here in Samaria is good enough for me ... Don't even try to preach some other type of "holier than thou" message to me ... I am getting my water, and I am out of here."
The woman began to draw from the well, ignoring Jesus and not even attempting to be careful with how the water was sloshing here and there ... and on Him. With her vessel full, she hastily turned and bolted away in a huff. Jesus mumbled one more nugget of wisdom but seemingly just beyond hearing and possibly for His benefit, as she stomped off , " Don't cast your pearls before swine!"
When Jesus' disciples returned with their arms full of shopping bags of provisions, they were taken back by the scene ahead of them --- Jesus was stomping around and shaking dust off of himself in a way that reminded them of a wet dog trying to dry off ... What in the world? When Jesus saw them approaching he stooped down and began doodling in the dust with His finger.
His disciples watched, As His "tic - tack - toe" was getting more and more erratic and almost violent. One by one His disciples quietly walked away, leaving Jesus to His own lack of adapting.
If you are reading this and wondering where in scripture this story is found, do not search ... It is not there. My hope is that you have been shocked or shaking your head with unbelief because this could not be the Jesus we trust. The story would be better suited being told about a pretender or a narrow minded, "stick with the script", guilt ridden Christian.
BUT if you soak and saturate your heart in the words of scripture, over and over ... You will find Jesus, God in the flesh, constantly adapting His mannerisms and words, creatively loving people in all of their differences and all of their messes; and meeting them right where the are and carrying them through and beyond their circumstances.
The Message of Hope was always the same BUT the delivery showed that the Creator was fully aware of His audience, and adapted his fully engaged delivery appropriately to their specific needs in that moment.
Psalm 104:33 - 34 "I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD."
This passage devotionally (in the last line) could have you think of taking up a sword against sinners and the wicked, but what if we see it as a promise of our battle against the garbage in our own lives as we LET Him consume or sins and wickedness.... Bless the LORD O my soul!!!
Are you a stumbling block or a stepping stone?
ADAPT - Actually "SEE" those people that are in your field of influence,
and break inside for their possible distance from God,
pray,
listen,
adapt
and then LOVE!!!
HLFA,
Jeff