I will never forget I walked into church one and I got "Oh girl, I love your outfit." and "I love those shoes." not one person asked me how I was. Not one person asked what was new with me. Although I got a lot of compliments on my outer appearance. I said the polite thing "Thank you so much" but I wanted to yell "Seriously I did learn how to color coordinate in preschool, and yes, I know its cute that is why I picked it." My husband laughed at me. Because honestly I love women who love fashion, but I love people more. Others will now tell me the like my shoes just because they think it is hilarious, and it is, but it is a gentle reminder for us as women to see more than the outside, if you love purses, awesome. I love thrift stores, shopping for deals, and NEVER paying full price. But the this is where we are as women sometimes, we don't want others to see our mess, our lives, how imperfect we are, so we hide behind shallow. Weak women cultivate a fashion show, but strong women cultivate a tribe. Many women cultivated a tribe, and for the next few weeks I am going to be blogging about them. Today let me talk to you about the women at the well. Everybody loves to talk about the women at the well because she was such a mess and yet she led a whole town to Jesus. If you have ever felt this way, let me encourage you to not quit, God is placing a desire for something so much deeper. As we look at the women at the well I want to take it to a personal level for each of us, because Jesus did something so great.
She wasn't welcome.
You see the bible says that Jesus in the middle of the day sat down at the well and sent the others ahead of him. In the middle of the day, is not when the local women are out drawing water. Its in the morning when its the peak hours where they get there stuff. Some scholars say she went in the middle of the day, the hottest time because she was ostracized by her community. She was not a women who had all the right pedigree, she was a screw up, a hot mess. She had more against her than for her. I have seen this women walk into churches, shoot I have been this women. I was a mess, I was hurting and I wanted someone to accept me and love me. Their are some churches that I was told "You are not welcome here" because of who my mom was. I have seen women of the church gossip and tear down when they should have swallowed their pride, their fears, and their 'discernments' and been giving of the fruits of the spirit. The woman at the well wasn't welcome, and I can't help but question, are we creating a culture where the women at the well would be welcome in our group? Would we love her where she was, accept her where she was, and lead her lovingly to a savior who can bring forth change? It requires discomfort and trusting that God can change that which you can't. It isn't comfortable, but again was it ever meant to be?
She wanted to be known.
Jesus asked her a simple thing "Women give me a drink." She responded in total confusion. How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? You see here is a truth here, she was a half breed Jew, and she was a woman. She was self aware of her place. Jesus shouldn't have been even talking to her, let alone ask her for a drink. He was better than she was and she knew it, she was reminding him like "Do you know what I am? Seriously let me remind you why, you might want to retract your question. I am below you, and we do not mix."
Jesus said to her "If you knew who I was you would be asking me." Jesus went on to tell her about her life, how she had five husbands and the man she was with wasn't her husband. You see she was a hot mess, and Jesus knew it. Let that sink in. He knew she was a hot mess, and yet he didn't avoid her, didn't gossip about her, he spoke with her and engaged her. He didn't retreat from her but spoke with her. We all want to be known. Are we being intentional with seeking out those that maybe we can't gain anything from? Political relationships have to do with what you can get from someone, have you every spent time with someone for the simple fact that God wanted you to love them in their moment? You see sisters, we are diluting our selves if we think in any way we have anything that makes us 'known' I have not arrived, I am just a traveler investing in others along the way. Some of us need to take a good look and get out of the way.
Cultivating a tribe:
Surround yourself with diverse women, women who love God but are different and unique, who see things differently than you. You see if we really want to cultivate a tribe of godly women, we first need to teach our daughters to love the unwanted women. She may smell, she may be obese, she may be missing teeth, she may be wearing sweat pants and a dirty shirt. She may be wearing an outfit that you can see her thong, she may be on the outside look hard, rough, and jaded. Ask her for a drink, offer her the living water, which is Jesus. You see I run a local outreach ministry called Propel Connect. One of our core values is EVERY women is invited to the table, no matter race, creed, social status, we are inclusive not exclusive. The way to Jesus is for all, but we are not the only way. Diversity in tribe cultivation is so key, so are you willing to be diverse.
She wasn't welcome.
You see the bible says that Jesus in the middle of the day sat down at the well and sent the others ahead of him. In the middle of the day, is not when the local women are out drawing water. Its in the morning when its the peak hours where they get there stuff. Some scholars say she went in the middle of the day, the hottest time because she was ostracized by her community. She was not a women who had all the right pedigree, she was a screw up, a hot mess. She had more against her than for her. I have seen this women walk into churches, shoot I have been this women. I was a mess, I was hurting and I wanted someone to accept me and love me. Their are some churches that I was told "You are not welcome here" because of who my mom was. I have seen women of the church gossip and tear down when they should have swallowed their pride, their fears, and their 'discernments' and been giving of the fruits of the spirit. The woman at the well wasn't welcome, and I can't help but question, are we creating a culture where the women at the well would be welcome in our group? Would we love her where she was, accept her where she was, and lead her lovingly to a savior who can bring forth change? It requires discomfort and trusting that God can change that which you can't. It isn't comfortable, but again was it ever meant to be?
She wanted to be known.
Jesus asked her a simple thing "Women give me a drink." She responded in total confusion. How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? You see here is a truth here, she was a half breed Jew, and she was a woman. She was self aware of her place. Jesus shouldn't have been even talking to her, let alone ask her for a drink. He was better than she was and she knew it, she was reminding him like "Do you know what I am? Seriously let me remind you why, you might want to retract your question. I am below you, and we do not mix."
Jesus said to her "If you knew who I was you would be asking me." Jesus went on to tell her about her life, how she had five husbands and the man she was with wasn't her husband. You see she was a hot mess, and Jesus knew it. Let that sink in. He knew she was a hot mess, and yet he didn't avoid her, didn't gossip about her, he spoke with her and engaged her. He didn't retreat from her but spoke with her. We all want to be known. Are we being intentional with seeking out those that maybe we can't gain anything from? Political relationships have to do with what you can get from someone, have you every spent time with someone for the simple fact that God wanted you to love them in their moment? You see sisters, we are diluting our selves if we think in any way we have anything that makes us 'known' I have not arrived, I am just a traveler investing in others along the way. Some of us need to take a good look and get out of the way.
Cultivating a tribe:
Surround yourself with diverse women, women who love God but are different and unique, who see things differently than you. You see if we really want to cultivate a tribe of godly women, we first need to teach our daughters to love the unwanted women. She may smell, she may be obese, she may be missing teeth, she may be wearing sweat pants and a dirty shirt. She may be wearing an outfit that you can see her thong, she may be on the outside look hard, rough, and jaded. Ask her for a drink, offer her the living water, which is Jesus. You see I run a local outreach ministry called Propel Connect. One of our core values is EVERY women is invited to the table, no matter race, creed, social status, we are inclusive not exclusive. The way to Jesus is for all, but we are not the only way. Diversity in tribe cultivation is so key, so are you willing to be diverse.
Comments
Post a Comment