Christmas Gifts, Samaritan Woman at the well, & Tim Tebow

By Creg

What was your favorite Christmas gift ever?

I could go on for days about the Christmas' at my house growing up. My brother & I would pour over the Sears catalog & make a list of page numbers, item descriptions, & prices to give to my parents. After double checking to make sure we didn't go over our $100 limit we would turn in our dream sheet before Thanksgiving.

What was the favorite gift you ever gave?

That would have to be some homemade Veggie Tale characters for Sterling when he was 3 years old. He had all of the major characters because we could buy them at the store, but he wanted some of the minor characters. So we decided to make them ourselves & I'll have to say Chelsa did a very good job. We even put real screws in Frankencelery's neck. They were a work of art if I do say so myself. They were my favorite gift because of the true joy they brought him over the next several years.

Which brings us to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.

She goes to the well at noon to avoid people because of her adulterous affairs (Gen 24:11). Yet after just a few minutes with Jesus she goes into town to talk to the people she has been trying to avoid. Notice that Jesus doesn't follow her to make sure she says everything just right. He entrusts her with His message. The message is a gift. Do you think a woman of her reputation has been entrusted with anything before? God entrusts all of us with His message & it should be our favorite gift to give because of the joy it brings to those who receive it.

How does Tim Tebow fit into this discussion? He is a home-schooled high-schooler who won the Heisman Trophy & a national championship in college & is now the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. If you have heard any of his interviews you know exactly where he stands spiritually. I think he knows the value of the gift because he lets everybody know what he believes. He has the attitude of, "If you don't want me to talk about Jesus, don't ask me a question. Jesus is a part of every aspect of my life. If you want me to tell you about that touchdown I will, but first let me tell you who my Lord & Savior is."

Back to John 4. I'll bet the Samaritan woman talked like Tim Tebow for the rest of her life; telling everyone who would listen about the message Jesus had entrusted to her. Now she goes to the well in the late afternoon when all the other women go. She's not trying to avoid them anymore because she has a great message to share. Imagine a conversation at the well when another woman asks, "Could you pass me a bucket, I need to draw some water." She replies, "Sure, but first let me tell you how to get living water!"

May we be as bold for Jesus.