TODAY’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
Extraordinarily Ordinary
“Will you give me a drink?”
— John 4:7
Jesus and a Samaritan lady had a chance encounter in John 4 at a location known as Jacob’s well. Their talk reveals a little bit of Jesus’ magnificence. It is sufficient to persuade the woman that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Many more are persuaded by further conversations that Jesus is the promised Savior. Extraordinary!
This is how it begins. Jesus is very worn out. He then takes a seat by the well as his followers go into town to get dinner. Although he is clearly hungry, eating will have to wait until the disciples come back. He is currently thirsty. So he offers her a drink when she arrives to draw water from the well. That is how they start talking to each other.
Everything is very common and human. Obviously, Jesus is exhausted. He is obviously hungry. He must be thirsty. He is, after all, a human being, much like us in that he has daily wants that must be met.
Jesus is not pretending to be a person. He is entirely God and fully human at the same time. Furthermore, nothing about his humanity elevates him above everyday human emotions like fatigue, hunger, and thirst. This will remain the case for him up until the day he encounters the ultimate truth of what it is to be a person: that we are susceptible to pain and death.
Prayer:
Jesus, most of our lives are so ordinary. Most of your life must have been ordinary too. So you understand us completely and love us totally. And we thank you for that. Amen.