Years ago I knew a Christian counselor who often repeated one key
phrase. “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” Then he would add: “If
you’ve got a lot of secrets, you’re really sick.”
John 4 tells the story
of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. He caught her
attention with the promise of “living water” that would quench the
thirst deep within her soul. When finally she asks for that “living
water,” Jesus responds by saying, “Go, call your husband and come back” (John
4:16). On one level it appears that Jesus is being insensitive. Why
bring up anything about her past? Is Jesus trying to embarrass her? The
answer is no. But his instruction to call her husband made her very
uncomfortable. She doesn’t want to go into detail so she simply
replies, “I have no husband” (v. 17). Now that was true but it wasn’t the whole story. She knew she was hiding the truth but what she doesn’t know is that Jesus knows it too.
This woman has had five husbands and the man she is living with
currently is not her husband. In a sense this is the ultimate reality
check.
Does Jesus love this woman? Yes, he does. He knows the
truth and still offers her eternal life. Here is the wonder of God’s
grace. Only someone who loves you can look at your past without blinking. Real love means knowing the truth about someone else and reaching out to them anyway.
Don’t miss the kicker to the story. “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ’He told me everything I ever did’” (v. 39). Once the woman’s secrets were out in the open, she was set free and a revival broke out.
Oh, the blessedness of having nothing to hide. If you are ready to be rid of your secrets, you can be set free.
Heavenly
Father, help us not to fear the light of your searching gaze. Thank you
for loving us so fiercely that even our secrets cannot turn you away.
Give us the courage to bring into the open those hidden things that
keep us from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.