When did the world become such a scary place?

Good Morning Everyone,

This past weekend I was blessed to be at Harding University in Searcy Arkansas for homecoming. We make this trip about once a year so we can expose our teenagers to Christian education. The time spent in Searcy was relatively uneventful but something happened on the way home that I would like to talk about.

On our way home we stopped at a Wendy's in Arkadelphia Arkansas for lunch. I ate my lunch and after I was finished I took Emma so April could eat her lunch. I was sitting in my chair and I could feel someone looking at me from behind, very soon that feeling was validated by a voice. The lady sitting behind me began to ask me questions about Emma, none of her questions were out of line, it was the typical questions about age and name and things of that nature. Looking back the most alarming thing she asked was whether or not Gary Adams was Emma's Grandfather.

I tell you this story ,and I confess to you here, that the whole time this lady was asking me questions I was scared. I was scared because I didn't know this lady. I was scared because this lady I didn't know was asking me questions about my child. I was scared because she thought Gary was related to me (Just kidding Gary).

In retrospect all of these fears were completely illogical. This lady never made any attempt to physically accost Emma or myself. This lady never asked for money or for a ride anyplace, all this lady was guilty of was taking an interest in fellow human beings.

We have become so scared of the world we live in that we find it difficult when someone we don't know takes an interest in us and because of this we have become scared of taking an interest in other people. I do realize there are times when people overstep their boundaries in the world but more and more it seems that we are scared to even be nice to someone. As I processed all of this I became increasingly aware of the fact that if we never take an interest in others we will never win souls for Jesus Christ.

Let's take a look at this through the eyes of the woman at the well in John chapter 4.

John 4:7-26
⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 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.” ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” ¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” ¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” ²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” ²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Stop and think for a minute what would have happened if Jesus had been scared to talk to this woman, moreover, think of what would have happened if this woman had ignored Jesus. As Christians we are called to act like Jesus, he is our pattern to follow, and yet so many times we don't even try. The amazing thing is that if we acted more like Jesus we might get results like Jesus got, let's look one more time at John 4.

John 4
³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers. ⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Many Samaritans believed because Jesus did not fear the rejection of this woman and the woman did not fear the social implications of speaking to Jesus. Satan loves to use fear to allow us to justify being unfriendly. Again I want to say that there are people in this world who would seek to do you harm but I believe them to be the exception and not the rule.

The next time you are out someplace and someone begins to make small talk with you don't reject them immediately. The next time you are out someplace and you see someone who looks like they have had a bad day don't be afraid to say something to brighten up their day. You never know, someday people might be able to say that they now know God because you didn't allow yourself to be afraid of the world. I hope you are all as blessed today as much as you have blessed me.

Be strong and Courageous,

Paul