Yesterday I read about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. This is such a beautiful passage of the unbiased, all-reaching love of Christ.
At first glance it seems like a simple description of an everyday occurrence. Jesus was thirsty, so he asks the woman at the well for some water. This is why it's crucial to try to get a better understanding of the context. Jesus was born a Jew. Historically speaking, Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Jews saw Samaritans as half-breeds, unclean, unfit, heretical, etc. Also, as we find out later, the woman at the well is living in a sinful relationship with a man who is not her husband, so this should further antagonize Jesus (seen as a religious leader by many) from this woman. Instead, we see Jesus lovingly pointing her to her spiritual needs and pointing to himself as the only solution. He offers her eternal life.
This is a brutal reminder of our all-too-often lack of love, where we choose who to love based on how someone makes us feel, how they look, how they act, etc. Jesus calls us to love regardless of how or who the other person is. He calls us to love people who are mean to us, who do evil things to us, even those who kill us. Because that's the way he has loved us...
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