Read This if You are an Outcast

 There have been times in my life when I felt like I didn't belong.  It didn't help when others did things that added to my insecurities.  The good news for these people is they don't have to worry about consequences from me because they have been long forgiven.  My journey from outcast to the person I am today is difficult to explain.  Perhaps the best way I know how to help someone who may be feeling the way I once felt is to share a story from long, long ago.

God spoke to an old man who was married without children.  His wife was long past her prime and unable to conceive.  God told the old man he would be a dad.  Then it happened just like God said.  The wife conceived.  The offspring were considered special.  Hard times fell upon the offspring and they were held captive by numerous nations surrounding them.  God told them to remember who they were but some didn't listen.  They broke away and married outsiders who worshiped false gods.  The offspring who stayed true to their identity resented the rebels.  In fact, one of these groups, the Samaritans, were the most hated.

One day Jesus appeared on the scene.  He picked a group of regular people and asked these people to follow him.  So far so good.  Jesus did some strange things that the followers didn't understand, like going to Samaria to meet a woman who was an outcast.  This woman was not someone who was you would want to hang out with unless you didn't care about your reputation.  Jesus didn't care about her past even though she had been married five times and currently shacking up with someone who was not her husband.

The meeting was out of this world.  You see, Jews and Samaritans weren't supposed to hang out together.  Men weren't supposed to talk to women.  Everything Jesus did when he met this outcast was unorthodox.  Even the woman knew this was wrong.  Jesus asked for water from the well.  Oddly enough it was high noon and it was hotter than hell.  Who hikes miles and miles in the worst part of the day to get water from the well?   Not the women of the town who went at sunrise when the weather was mild.  This outcast didn't belong with them.  Have you ever felt like her?  The best way I can describe what happened that transformed her life is to share the video clip from the Chosen.  Watch it and see for yourself how your life can be better if you happen to feel like you're an outcast.  Have a great day.