Someone told me every person has a “catastrophic secret,” that is, a secret hidden deep inside. The person believes that if it were revealed, all of life would crumble. I don’t know if that’s true, but I remember the shocked look on the face of a confirmation student when I said that God knows everything about us. Her eyes widened. “Everything?” Do we really want God to know EVERYTHING?

That feeling of reticence of having God know everything makes the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well a surprise. Jesus tells her a truth about herself. She is living with a man who is not her husband. In fact, this is the fifth man she has been living with. The conversation continues with Jesus revealing that he is the Messiah. Afterwards the woman announces to people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!” Wait a minute. The woman is now willing to tell everybody that Jesus knows her secrets? I thought your world was supposed to fall apart if someone knows your secrets. It turns out to be a blessing that God knows everything about us. There is absolutely nothing to hide from God. We are who we are. That’s a gift.

All of our devotions on this blog have the tag line “God loves YOU unconditionally.” I’d like to add a thought to that. God knows all about you, knows every secret you have and still loves you unconditionally. That makes the gift of love all the more amazing.

Read John 4:7-29, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4%3A7-29&version=NRSV