by Pastor Joel Lawler

When I was in college, I needed to find a summer job.  I bought a newspaper and combed through the classifieds. I found an ad for a job that seemed to be a pretty good fit. The ad said to show up at an office at a certain time for an interview.  I pulled my long hair back into a ponytail. I put on one of the few shirts that I owned that had a collar. It was a shirt my mother had made for me. She made a  lot of clothes for me and I would wear them until they were falling apart. This shirt was about half way to needing to be retired. I put on my best jeans and freshly polished combat boots and headed off to the job interview.  When I arrived, it was clear that I was not what they were looking for. There were about twenty people in the room and nineteen of them were dressed in business attire. They interviewed us in groups of two and there were few questions and no interest directed my way.

She was on the outside looking in. She was born a half-breed in a society that held lineage in a high regard. She could not keep relationships together. She had been divorced five times and was not married to the man that she was currently living with. She also was part of a faith system that was mocked by the majority of people.

It was common in her day to go to the well and draw water early in the morning

while it was still cool. She went at midday, which was an off time most likely because of her social standing. It was better to face the heat of the day than the cold judgment of her neighbors.

Jesus met her at the well. He asked her for a drink. She was surprised that he would even talk to her. Jesus knew her past and the pain that she was living with because of it. She wanted to talk about religion but he went straight for her heart. He knew the rules and faith systems would lead her to another dead end. He offered her a new life through a relationship with him.

Very few encounters are recorded where Jesus met with someone on an individual basis and delivered his message of hope face to face. He took the time to talk to this woman because He loved her. Jesus love cuts through to the individual without any regard for the value placed on them in society.

From birth to death we are all constantly being measured and a value is being placed on us. Such things as race, sex, nationality, income level, height, weight, intelligence, athletic ability, age and attractiveness are used to

determine our worth.

When men meet each other, the first question that is asked is "what do you do for a living?" How that question is answered will determine his worth. Women have similar standards placed on them. A beautiful, young woman is instantly valued while an older woman who is over weight will be deemed less important.

These values that we place on each other are temporal and worthless. They do not matter to God. He sees you and I as someone He desires a relationship with. He gave His own life to remove the barrier that kept us distanced from Him. He loves you and me dearly and does not care what value someone else places on us.
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