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I can remember my very first visit to The Well. A church full of young college kids that someone had the courage to invite me to. And out of my brokenness, I accepted the invitation and went.
I smoked a cigarette on the way there.
Got out and walked in, hoping no one would make eye contact with me, no one would be that super-happy fake Christian with me, and just let me walk in, sit in the back and listen.
I didn’t want to be known or recognized. Because if I was known and recognized, it would be for the wrong things. I wore the proverbial scarlet letter and I thought everyone inside the church could see, would see, who I truly was:
Scandalous
Broken
Party girl
Lost
Hurting
I wondered if in this church, where they teach the Bible, would there be space for a woman like me?
A woman who visited more bars in her life than she had churches.
I walked in, sat in the back, put my head down and watched people stand in worship of a God I was just getting to know, even though I thought I knew Him all along. And as I was trying to find my place, not just in the pew but in the Kingdom, I discovered the story behind the name of this church.
Our church is named after the woman at The Well in John 4. The story of an interaction Jesus had with a scandalous woman. The story of Jesus, our Lord, purposely going out of His way to show her the Way. The story of Jesus engaging in conversation with a Samaritan woman, something respected Jewish men didn’t do, right there in the middle of the day.
The story of God entering in with scandalous grace, into this scandalous place, to reveal Himself to this scandalous woman.
Jesus sought her out.
Jesus revealed her sin.
Jesus revealed the remedy.
She embraced His grace.
And those around were shocked:
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” – John 4:27
His scandalous interaction with this woman shocked His disciples. They couldn’t believe God would even interact with a woman who had a reputation like hers.
And her response:
So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. – John 4:28-30
She sets out to draw water to live and ends up finding Living Water.
She leaves her jar, the very reason she came to the well in the first place, and runs into her town to tell everyone she has met the Christ!
And because of Jesus’ scandalous grace and unwavering truth, this woman’s story is redeemed.
She no longer has to live with her shameful reputation but now has a testimony of being changed by Jesus. And the result?
Many from that town came to believe. Her scandalous reputation in exchange for His redeeming grace.
And because of Jesus’ scandalous grace and unwavering truth, my story is redeemed.
He shifted my entire paradigm with His broader picture. God is far more redemptive than I knew, taking even the scandalous and turning her into an evangelist.
Originally published on selftalkthegospel.com as part of their Biblical Womanhood series. Used with permission.