March 5, 2023
Please Don’t Leave Me God!
“ From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all the things that I have done. So, when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42 (NASB)
When I became a serious Christian, I noticed a sincere desire for more of God’s Word and knowing Him more personally. This didn’t occur when I first came to Christ. Once saved at eighteen, I joined the United States Army. My desire changed from my new life in Christ to trying to survive Army boot camp. It got easier to stay distant from there, but I still wanted to know Him. Ten years later after lots of mistakes, I began to search more for God. I started listening to as many messages as I could and read the Bible. I wanted all the learning I could obtain about Him. I became like these men from Sychar, “asking Him to stay with them.” These men wanted to learn as much as they could about Jesus. So, did I. When we come to Christ, there is a supernatural drawing. We want to know more. We even find ourselves feeling addicted to Him. What a better addiction?
After an amazing time of watching the men of Sychar come to salvation, remember it occurred from an outcast of society. The Samaritan woman. Her experience and testimony were so fascinating they had to hear Jesus. They wanted to meet Him firsthand. They knew she met with a prophet of some sort which required investigation. As Jesus was about to leave, we see the men “asking Him to stay with them.” The transformation of these men made them genuinely want to know more. The word “asking” or eromai is better translated here as “kept begging or urging.” [1] Goodspeed says, “they asked him” is certainly too weak.[2]” When we come to Jesus, there is a natural desire to know more. We beg for more. In life, to know anyone, you have to spend time with them. You ask questions. You listen to the person. It takes time. Jesus listened and, “He stayed there two days.” Jesus continued His revival in a town which originally harbored bad feelings between Jews and Samaritans. Interestingly enough it was also a first. The invitation of God to Gentile nations. Even the conception of Christ was first expressed by Samaritans. They declared, “this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” Through this action to Samaritans, God extended His grace and mercy through salvation to all, not just the Jews.
If you don’t have a desire to know more about God in your life, it ought to set off some warning bells. If there has never been a desire to know God, you might consider if you ever met Him as your Savior. If the original desire faded, try asking yourself who left first, God or you? The text shows us the desire of every new believer is to “beg Him to stay with them.” If you sense this is not where you are today, I challenge you to confess your fault(s) and distancing from God. Ask Him to place a new desire in you to spend time and catch up on all you have been missing. Don’t spend the next ten years doing what I have done in my life. You won’t regret it!
[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).
[2] Barclay Moon Newman and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Gospel of John, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 132.