one of the first times i ever hung out with chris, we were on a walk and somehow it came up that i had never been to pappasito's. it's been his favorite restaurant for years, and he was somewhat appalled that i'd never been. so, sure enough, on our first date we split fajitas at pappasito's. he was so excited to introduce me to something he loved so much. we've been multiple times since, and now i can honestly say pappasito's fajitas are the best fajitas i've ever had -- not because of how much chris likes them but because i've tasted them for myself... and you just can't beat that garlic butter sauce, y'all.
in john 4, jesus hangs out with a samaritan woman at a water well. he says very jesusy things like, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (pretend you aren't sitting on the other side of centuries of sermons and commentaries -- pretend you just heard him say that in the moment -- what?!) then, he proceeds to know crazy things about this woman that no one should've known. so what's her response? like any girl would do, she runs and tells her friends. then comes the good part -- "Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me all that I ever did'... And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.'"
did you catch that? some came to faith because of what the woman told them about jesus, but even more came to faith because they actually heard jesus for themselves. the power of another's testimony is absolutely undeniable, but even more powerful still is actually getting to experience it for yourself. chris could tell me a million times how good pappasito's is (and he did), but i didn't really get it until i tasted it for myself.
have you personally tasted the Lord's goodness (psalm 34.8)? or do you know he's good because other people tell you he is? it's so easy to know God through other people. sermons, podcasts, blog posts, books, even conversations with friends... it's so easy to get wrapped up in what other people know about God, how other people relate to him, what he's doing in other people's lives... so easy, in fact, that i've recently caught myself settling for it. the lazy me loves it, the rest of me HATES it.
i want to experience Christ in intimate ways for myself. i want to know the power of the Spirit in my life. i don't want or expect these things because of who i am or anything i've done, but because of who he is and what he's done -- because he's worth it. i don't want to be lazy in my faith. i don't want to miss something he has for me because i'm too busy with things that don't matter.
may we be able to say like the samaritans, "we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."
in john 4, jesus hangs out with a samaritan woman at a water well. he says very jesusy things like, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (pretend you aren't sitting on the other side of centuries of sermons and commentaries -- pretend you just heard him say that in the moment -- what?!) then, he proceeds to know crazy things about this woman that no one should've known. so what's her response? like any girl would do, she runs and tells her friends. then comes the good part -- "Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me all that I ever did'... And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.'"
did you catch that? some came to faith because of what the woman told them about jesus, but even more came to faith because they actually heard jesus for themselves. the power of another's testimony is absolutely undeniable, but even more powerful still is actually getting to experience it for yourself. chris could tell me a million times how good pappasito's is (and he did), but i didn't really get it until i tasted it for myself.
have you personally tasted the Lord's goodness (psalm 34.8)? or do you know he's good because other people tell you he is? it's so easy to know God through other people. sermons, podcasts, blog posts, books, even conversations with friends... it's so easy to get wrapped up in what other people know about God, how other people relate to him, what he's doing in other people's lives... so easy, in fact, that i've recently caught myself settling for it. the lazy me loves it, the rest of me HATES it.
i want to experience Christ in intimate ways for myself. i want to know the power of the Spirit in my life. i don't want or expect these things because of who i am or anything i've done, but because of who he is and what he's done -- because he's worth it. i don't want to be lazy in my faith. i don't want to miss something he has for me because i'm too busy with things that don't matter.
may we be able to say like the samaritans, "we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."
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