Behind the Façade

As a 17-year-old kid, I was searching for God. I had tried to find truth through alcohol and partying, but I knew that wasn’t the answer. I tried to find it through drug use, and I knew that wasn’t the answer either. But I was searching.

I would hang around Newport Beach at night, leaning against a wall, and I would watch as Christians walked around handing out religious literature. They looked at me and kept walking. Occasionally they gave me something to read, but they wouldn’t engage me.

I remember thinking, “Why won’t you talk to me?” They bought my façade, the appearance that I didn’t care. But I did care. And I was waiting for someone to enter my world and show me the way.

That is what Jesus did with the woman at the well in Samaria. He said, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again” (John 4:13 NLT). He was using the well as a metaphor for life. You’ll be thirsty again if you drink this water.

We could write that over the well of materialism or over the well of fame. We could write it over the well of so many things.

The woman, however, wasn’t getting what Jesus was saying, so she started to argue with Him. But Jesus called her out. He engaged her and told her what she needed to do.

When we’re sharing the gospel, we need to appeal to a person’s spiritual thirst, but we also need to tell the truth about sin. They need to know that sin separates them from God, and the solution is a relationship with Jesus Christ. The problem is sin. The solution is Jesus.

People are hiding behind their façades, but they’re really waiting for someone to show them the way. Will you be that person?