Hear for Yourselves

John 4:41-42 – “Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world." “
This is a long chapter, and consists mostly of the story of the Samaritan woman at the well and her conversation with Jesus. I’ve really enjoyed lately seeing how much application there is in these passages to us, today.

The woman encounters Christ and believes. She promptly tells others, and they believe her encounter, they even believe that what happened with her is because of Jesus. And yet, it appears they did not have the ultimate saving faith until they heard it from Him, from the words He put forth. And when they hear for themselves, they know; they believe and put their trust in the Savior.

So much of Scripture is instructive to the Christian as to what the saved life should look like. Not rules and regulations, but actual actions that are the result of the changed life, the life changed by the work of the Spirit. So the salvation comes, and then works follow. But why the works?

Well, our actions and attitudes as Christians should point others to Christ. The woman in John 4 had a life-changing experience, and apparently those around her saw that change. She told them the cause, she probably told them that they, too, needed to trust in this Jesus, and they trusted what she said. She made sure they searched and found the source, though.

Likewise, I pray for encounters such as this, where I have the opportunity to share Christ with others. But if I leave the conversation at “what Christ did for me” I am only giving a small piece of the story. People need the Word of God. My conversations to others are great when they involve God, Jesus, church and so on, yet if I fail to give them the Word along with that, I really don’t give them an opportunity to truly believe. Of course the Spirit can prompt an urging for someone to look into Scripture, I get that. Still, I must constantly remember to use God’s Word in my daily conversation. His Word is (indeed) sharper than any twp-edged sword. In short, His Word is effective, and I should use it much more than I do already.

It’s Christmas. Let’s tell people the real reason for the holiday. Then remember to point them to Luke 2 for the nativity story. Have them look into John 3, like yesterday, to answer why He did what He did in Luke 2. And so on. Isaiah 53 asks “Who has believed our report?” I cannot ask the same question until I have “reported” to them who Christ is and what He has done.

Pray for your and my effective evangelism efforts. Pray specifically for opportunity and people, by name. Pray that besides hearing us that they will hear themselves, from Him, and believe.