Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Today we see The Harvest — the collecting of the rewards from a lot of hard work. From all the way back to Abraham, God cared about these people and he had Abraham build a well here. This well created a center for people to live around, as water is a necessity of life. It sustains growth and hydrates people and animals and plants. So too, Jesus is the source of life. He is the SPRING OF OVERFLOWING WATER inside our souls.

I find it interesting that the people’s ears were opened to hearing by the woman’s testimony, and then they listened to Jesus and became committed followers on their own. They owned their faith! And so we have presented here, in the story of the Samaritan Woman, a great formula or model of how to witness relationally: 1) Find some common ground and show God’s love, 2) Make an analogy between that common ground and life in touch with God Spirit, 3) Blow their minds with the truth of the gospel, 4) Challenge them to leave their ways of sin, 5) and Teach and mentor those who follow, in the Word of God. Jesus saw the spiritual opportunity with a heart that was ready for something more in life, and he connected and loved this woman from the heart. The result was a great harvest of souls for eternity.

Today, we are in a world where many people are looking for meaning in life and they are searching for truth — something more. Changing life’s way of operating (COVID, job losses, polarizing elections) creates a fertile environment for growing faith and ultimately harvesting souls. This season of uncertainty in life reminds me of the plowing phase in farming. Everything gets stirred up, mixed up, as what was on the bottom is now on the top. God is calling us to be fountains of refreshing water to a lost world. Lord, help me to live well and look for those opportunities to challenge people towards truth and help them get there with you. Help me not to get too caught up in the things of this world and miss the Harvest!