Deeper Belief

So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 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." (John 4:40-42)

There is so much here that I am loathe to move on to the next story. I just have to spend a little more time milking this passage for more sweetness, more nourishment, more heart truth. I see so many things that I want to ponder and dwell on and experience myself just in these three verses that I don't hardly know where to begin. I suppose I could start by just listing quickly several things that jump out and grab my attention.

The Samaritans came to Jesus. They didn't wait for Him to come to them and He didn't impose Himself on them against their will. He first captured the heart of a woman whom they likely had despised or scorned up to this point and used her to be His introduction to everyone else.

After they heard the woman's compelling testimony (largely from the attitude she was exuding far more than the words she spoke) and then met Him initially for themselves they were convinced enough to feel the need to invite Him to come into their fellowship, into their community, into their increased trust. Again, it was the people of the town who asked Jesus to come stay with them, not the other way around. They had enough compelling reasons, enough hunger and evidence that this man had something that could truly satisfy that hunger that they wanted more of Him. As a result they were willing to open their homes and their community and extend hospitality to Him and see if He was for real, if He was as compelling as the woman's testimony seemed to indicate.

But I wish I knew what was going on in relation to the disciples throughout this story. They are not mentioned at all after their clueless appearance in the middle of the story, they just sink out of sight as the “ever after happy ending” is put on the story. But they most likely had to come into town for two days along with Jesus. And when that happened how did things go with them and their interactions with these 'hated' Samaritans? They must have felt very uncomfortable having to eat and sleep and hang out with people that they had never dared associate with before. I would love to have seen how all of that transpired.

I am immersing myself in the book of John for some very specific reasons of the heart. One of the main reasons is to absorb the real meaning of the word 'belief'. This experience is central to having a saving, transforming relationship with God and it is vital that I get much deeper than the typical religious assumptions about this word. It is something I must have for myself and understand much more if I am to have the intimate connection with God that is so necessary for living with Him for eternity. Every story I have studied so far in this book at least touches on this word and this one again exposes more of what it must really mean. I want to be sure to spend enough time and open my heart sufficiently to not miss what God wants to teach and train me about what it really means to believe.

Belief is far more than just an intellectual assent or logical grasp of some externally proven fact of truth. That much has become clear to me. The kind of belief that John wants us to experience goes far deeper into the core of our being, our very heart and soul. It was the kind of belief for these people that became spontaneous, open and genuine. They didn't seem to allow the prejudices of the disciples or the fact that Jesus was a Jew and that most Jews hated them interfere with their belief. In fact, their words to the woman are very insightful to help me know more about this thing called belief.

We have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.

Another thing that I notice here is the mention of two seemingly distinct aspects of how they came into their belief. I would like to know more about this because it might be helpful in my own journey of belief. They said that they heard for themselves and then besides that they now knew for themselves what it was that they believed about Jesus. That seems very significant.

Paul amplifies this need for a hearing to take place before this kind of believing and knowing can happen in a person's life. But again, I believe that this kind of hearing is not just listening to words that someone may be saying but is more along the line of hearing with the heart as well as the ears. I have spent countless years hearing the Word of God spoken to me but have seldom experienced the results that are supposed to occur from hearing. That has baffled and frustrated me many times and is why I am here looking for the kind of hearing that will produce real faith and belief in my own heart.

Likewise, the kind of knowing that is referred to here is very much a knowing of the heart, an understanding in intimacy to some degree, a bonding with another heart and in this case a bond with the very heart of God Himself. And this kind of knowing cannot happen in a group of people such as in this story without a parallel bonding and knowing springing up between all the people involved in this kind of encounter with God.

So it must have been inevitable that as a result of this mass conversion and revival in this Samaritan town that a great deal of real community must have begun to happen in a way that had never been there before. I can't imagine that the woman in this story was ever looked upon the same way that she had been before this day by the rest of the townspeople. She was now considered a valuable and cherished part of their family, even honored because of her willingness to do whatever it took to get their attention drawn to a Man who changed their own lives as much as He had theirs.

Their words expressing what it was that they now believed are still rolling around in my mind to find real connection. They said, this One is indeed the Savior of the world. What was in their minds, what was their conceptual grasp of what this word Savior meant to them? It is easy to insert our own assumptions and definitions of this word into the story, but they did not have the New Testament to read, they did not have the lengthy expositions by Paul to meditate on concerning the work of Jesus for this earth or even the gospels; they only had limited access to the Old Testament writings and that was even in the context of living outside the privileges enjoyed by the Jews. So what connected in their minds when they said with such confidence that this man fit perfectly what they conceived of as being the genuine Messiah or Savior of the world?

I have to say I suspect that this statement did not come so much as a result of Jesus fitting into some preconceived ideas about the Messiah that they had previously, but came as a result of what their hearts were feeling and experiencing as they were transformed by His presence among them. Yes, they heard His wonderful words that brought life and hope and joy to their souls, but the results of experiencing His presence with them for two whole days likely cannot be put into words of any kind. It is a belief that is only described superficially with statements that belie a much deeper level of belief just as the mass of an iceburg is largely out of sight except for the very tip.

This is the kind of belief that I crave to experience myself as I continue to encounter His presence.