Devotion 11.29.23

John 4

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)

Juergan Koetter was in constant motion, but he was attuned to his surroundings. He was a learned man with the ability to speak English, German, Spanish, and Chinese. He served in the Army in WWII as a listener to intercept German cables and decipher them. He was a businessman who owned his own company, a profitable one, and yet he made time for everyone. Juergan loved to fish, and when I mentioned having enjoyed fishing a time or two, he decided he'd help me build a fishing rod.

This wasn't just any fishing rod. It was, and still is today, a custom-made fishing rod that was guided by the hands of a master (another skill of Juergan's). During its time of careful construction and finishing, Juergan would engage in fascinating conversations. Juergan built the relationship, developed an awareness of your interests and eventually talked about things spiritual, usually centered around growing Christ's kingdom.

Juergan wasn't an opportunist. He was a realist who took time to engage the person with all things that would eventually narrow to the spiritual and then to Christ.

John 4, as mentioned yesterday, shows Christ would take time to do much the same. If John 4 was a road trip, Christ was a passenger who got dropped off and seized an opportunity while the disciples drove on to the city to buy lunch at McDonald's. Christ, as we read in scripture, either intentionally set up situations or took advantage of situations. He seized moments to teach, heal, perform a miracle or to listen and teach through His actions. The disciples, on more than one occasion, fed their stomachs when Christ fed souls.

We worry about spiritual conversations due to content. "I don't know if I know enough about .... to engage in such a conversation." Juergan didn't care. While being learned and intelligent, he relied on questions such as, "What do you think?" or "What is your thought about?" or "How would you approach...?" Bruce Wurdeman, once a church worker here in Lubbock for the Lutheran Church, noted that if we get into a spiritual conversation, we should always say, when the time comes, "Here is the Jesus I know and here's the difference He's made in my life."

Opportunities will come our way as they did Christ's. As those opportunities arise, we pray for wisdom and guidance. We pray for words from God. Yet through it all, we talk and engage the person where they are. Take interest in them and understand what they are seeking. Then as things unfold, we take time to share our confession, "Who Christ is and the difference He's made in my life..." To do so, though, means we are present, not stopping the car to drop off a passenger and looking for the best place to eat in town.

As we seek to make disciples, of our families and friends who don't know Christ or a growing in their faith, to people we know (neighbors, community members and others), to people we meet, pray for words from God and the ability to be present. Pray for the ability to listen, to ask questions and to learn about them.