Key Thought

One of the hardest heartbreaks occurs when we can reach strangers with the gospel of Jesus while those we know and love most don't share our faith. Lest we think we are alone in this heartbreak, we need to remember that Jesus suffered this same rejection. He knows the weight of this specific sorrow. We can share this personal grief with him. It was his resurrection that changed many of their hearts. That's probably why Peter reminds us that to influence our family members, we have to "win them without a word" through the changes they see in our lives because of Jesus (1 Peter 3:1-2). In our frustration and heartbreak, let's go to God our Savior and ask for his comfort. Let’s pray that his power will transform us so that our loved ones will come to see Jesus as Lord and Savior through us.

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

At that time Jesus' followers came back from town. They were surprised because they saw Jesus talking with a woman. But none of them asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She told the people in town, "A man told me everything I have ever done. Come see him. Maybe he is the Christ. " So the people left the town and went to see Jesus. While the woman was in town, Jesus' followers were begging him, "Teacher, eat something!" But Jesus answered, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." So the followers asked themselves, "Did somebody already bring Jesus some food?" Jesus said, "My food is to do what the One (God) who sent me wants me to do. My food is to finish the work that he gave me to do. {When you plant} you always say, 'Four more months to wait before we gather the grain.' But I tell you, open your eyes. Look at the {people. They are like} fields ready for harvesting now. Even now, the person that harvests the crop is being paid. He is gathering crops for eternal life. So now the person that plants can be happy together with the person that harvests. It is true when we say, 'One person plants, but another person harvests the crop.' I sent you to harvest a crop that you did not work for. Other people did the work, and you get the profit from their work." Many of the Samaritan people in that town believed in Jesus. They believed because of what the woman had told them about Jesus. She had told them, "He (Jesus) told me everything I have ever done." The Samaritans went to Jesus. They begged Jesus to stay with them. So Jesus stayed there two days. Many more people believed because of the things Jesus said. The people said to the woman, "First we believed in Jesus because of what you told us. But now we believe because we heard him ourselves. We know now that he really is the one that will save the world." Two days later Jesus left and went to Galilee. (Jesus had said before that aprophet is not respected in his own country.)

— John 4:27-44 (ERV)

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