Three letter word

One of the most important words in the English language only has three letters.  This word is utilized almost every day, but it is taken for granted when acknowledging power and importance.  This word is one that you normally wouldn’t pay any attention to.  In fact, it’s skipped over more times than not in a sentence because we see it so often in our writings.  What’s the word? 

Ready?  Here it is:

and

See.  I told you.  It’s not a word that you would normally place a lot of emphasis on.  In fact, I bet you were probably let down when you read the word.  Bear with me, though.  Let me give you my reasoning. 

The word “and” implies equal importance.  It gives credence to the item coming both before it AND (see, I told you it was important) after it.  It gives the impression that there is something more than what is stated at the beginning of a phrase.  Here’s why this little word is important. 

What if…

Jesus had only said “Take up your cross.”  No “Follow me.”  What would the life of a Christian look like?  It SHOULD look like someone who strives every day to follow in the footsteps of the Master.  If that little word was not there, our daily living would not have as much emphasis in Christ’s eyes as our profession of Him. 

What if…

Jesus had said “Go into all of the world.”  No “And preach…”  Again, what would the life of a Christian look like.  We would base our evangelism STRICTLY on the life that we lead (sound familiar?).  Instead, we are called to also PREACH the word.  JUST as important as “going.”  So what does ”preaching” look like?  This will be the subject of a few sermons down the line. 

What if…

Prayer stood alone.  No fasting.  We’ll explore this one on Sunday…

Perspective

If I told you about a woman who has had 3 different husbands, now living by herself, plays the piano, active in her social group, what kind of woman do you picture?   

I had a dear friend of mine give me a little bit of a different view on the woman in John 4. 

In this passage, Jesus tells the woman that he knows that she has had 5 different husbands and that the man she was with now was not her husband. 

Question: How many times was this woman divorced?  According to scripture, the answer is NONE.  We don’t KNOW how many times this particular woman was divorced.  Is it LIKELY that she was divorced at least once?  Yes.  Likely more than once?  Yes.  For CERTAIN more than once?  No. 

I always envisioned this woman as a young promiscuous lady with a knack for getting kicked out of her home for cheating on her current husband.  Actually, we don’t know that she was promiscuous.  She might have OUTLIVED her other husbands.  It may be that this woman is an older woman who still carried out her daily chores just like the younger women in the village.

Is it LIKELY that she cheated on other men.  Yes.  Is it LIKELY that she was living with a man who was not her husband and sexually active with this man?  Yes. 

Jesus still addressed this woman’s hurts, though.  Think about it.  If she had actually outlived all of her husbands, could you imagine the pain she has endured?  If, in reality, she had cheated on all of those men, could you imagine the shame she had to live with every day, carrying that same jug of water back to the same well?  If she had been “wrongfully” divorced by her husbands, could you imagine the worthlessness she felt? 

Jesus still made her feel welcome.  Jesus made her feel safe.  Jesus made her feel whole.

Amazing.

By the way, the woman described at the top of this article?  A ninety plus year old nursing home resident who is a dedicated member of her church. 

Different views on the same people.  Jesus sees it all.