Faith Takes Time

I think it is fair to say that the idea of being persecuted, oppressed or ostracised for placing our faith in Jesus would be an unfamiliar experience for many of us who have grown up in Australian society. Especially for those like myself, brought up in a home where following Jesus and Christian living was learnt through immersion; I don’t even remember a time when I didn’t know about Jesus. The only opposition I recall was during high school years when classmates would occasionally say things to stir me or to tease.

It was quite an eye opener for me to learn that many of the women I meet with from particular religious and cultural backgrounds do potentially face harsh rebukes from their community for even befriending a Christian person, let alone for taking interest in Christian things. I realised that for these women, sharing friendship and exploring things of faith with me already involves a significant risk. Their mere interest in things of Jesus and the Bible can mean being cut off from family members and outright shaming before their community. This has been a humbling and sobering realisation. I have valued these friendships even more in light of this fact and have focused prayers on spiritual protection over our exchanges and shared meetups. Over time, I have also been challenged on considering how I can adjust my interactions with these friends to help minimise the cost of oppression for them.

I wonder if, sometimes, we don’t take enough time to understand what is going on in their world. Sometimes we can be so focused on getting an immediate response to the Gospel that we don’t consider the immense cost it is for them to surrender their life to Jesus. We may perceive their reluctance to engage with us on the Gospel as disinterest, when for many, the process of enquiry can unfold for years in secret, hiding Bibles, or other literature, like tracts, from family members. It may look like asking to meet for spiritual discussions in discrete locations so that they won’t be recognised by potential onlookers. Until the outsider can trust that they are safe to engage with Jesus, many will prefer to remain as silent observers. It is necessary that we love them enough to prepare safe ways for them to discover Jesus. That may mean using discretion and asking God for wisdom to move at their readiness and not at our own availability or timeline.

To help me with this learning process, I have appreciated reflecting on the way Jesus engaged with the Samaritan woman by the well in John 4:1-42.

1. Jesus engages with the woman in a setting that was a common crossover point between cultures. He meets her in a place of familiarity – the local well – at a time safe for her to engage with Him.
2. Jesus sparks up a spiritual conversation over a natural exchange – requesting a drink of water. As the exchange unfolds, Jesus enters her personal life – acknowledging her desire for relationship and the sinful lifestyle she is currently in. He presents to her an alternate, life changing offer – eternal life and salvation.
3. Jesus clarifies her spiritual misunderstandings and defensiveness with gentleness and a warm invitation to get to know Him as Messiah – which she eagerly accepts.
4. Jesus engages with this one woman over a matter of hours. It is not a hasty exchange. Jesus shows her genuine interest and understanding. So much so, that of her own volition, she becomes bold enough to face her community unashamed. Her changed disposition in encountering Jesus is remarkable and attractive! Her testimony and invitation to the townspeople to “Come and see!” arouses curiosity in them to invite Jesus to spend time with them and ‘many more believed because of His word… “It is no longer because of what you [Samaritan woman] said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.”’ (v. 41-42 ESV)

At first reflection, I caught myself thinking, “Well, it was easy for Jesus to do this, He’s God!”.  However, I observed that His deliberate manner of interaction with the woman offers helpful insights on how to take time to respectfully engage with those with different faith backgrounds and/or with complicated personal circumstances. There’s great value in recognising that Jesus invested time and intentional interest to cultivate the soil for Gospel seeds to bring this woman to a knowledge of who He is. How much more important is it for us to offer these same blessings, prayerfully entrusting that when we do so, the Holy Spirit will draw them, and others, to encounter Jesus in a personal way.