I Am Because You Are August 17, 2025 Devotional

LUKE 19:10 | ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.

Human beings are better at fences than bridges. The relationship between “Jews and Samaritans” is a prime example. Samaria had been a name for the Northern kingdom of Israel and there were internal Jewish debates between Northerners and those in Judah about the relative importance of Jerusalem and Mt. Gerizion, what should be included in holy scripture, and who could exercise priesthood. Samaritan practices survive today and differ from mainstream Judaism in several ways. These differences gave rise to political and ethnic divisions and separations. Jesus avoided Samaria and saw its people as apostate.

Jesus’ encounter with this unnamed woman was socially impossible also! Men did not talk to unaccompanied women in public, Rabbi’s in particular avoided this, lest there be an appearance of impropriety. History, ethnicity, and gender were all prohibitive barriers to encounter and conversation. As we learn from the setting of the well at mid-day and from her admissions of serial relationships, this unfortunate woman was isolated even within her own community.

Which American subgroups are separated by history or sociology or ethnicity?

Gracious God,

You broke barriers, cleared hurdles, and overcame fences. Give me a passion to connect with others across differences.

Amen.