"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."
So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
And many more believed because of His own word.
Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
John 4:39-42 (NKJV)
There are many people who simply believe what others tell them. This is not information that a person received directly; it could be called second hand information. This can be good, or bad, depending on who is sharing the information, but it is always better if we can have a direct source for what we learn, and not just base what we know on what we heard from someone else, relying on the things they say. We need to go from second hand information to personal information.
In John 4, there is the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. The woman comes to see that Jesus is the Messiah and she goes to tell others, who then believe her testimony. But what happens next is something that we all need to take note of. The people who believed the testimony of the woman then came to Jesus for themselves. And, because of what they heard for themselves, they came to a personal belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Not just because of what the woman said, but because of what they had learned for themselves.
There are many people who base what they believe about God and His Word, and many other things, just on what they know from other people. It is not enough for us to believe something and accept it as truth because we heard it from someone else, even if that person could be considered a reliable source. We need to go from second hand information to personal knowledge and understanding of God, our relationship with Jesus, and all that God's Word tells us.
So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
And many more believed because of His own word.
Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
John 4:39-42 (NKJV)
There are many people who simply believe what others tell them. This is not information that a person received directly; it could be called second hand information. This can be good, or bad, depending on who is sharing the information, but it is always better if we can have a direct source for what we learn, and not just base what we know on what we heard from someone else, relying on the things they say. We need to go from second hand information to personal information.
In John 4, there is the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. The woman comes to see that Jesus is the Messiah and she goes to tell others, who then believe her testimony. But what happens next is something that we all need to take note of. The people who believed the testimony of the woman then came to Jesus for themselves. And, because of what they heard for themselves, they came to a personal belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Not just because of what the woman said, but because of what they had learned for themselves.
There are many people who base what they believe about God and His Word, and many other things, just on what they know from other people. It is not enough for us to believe something and accept it as truth because we heard it from someone else, even if that person could be considered a reliable source. We need to go from second hand information to personal knowledge and understanding of God, our relationship with Jesus, and all that God's Word tells us.
No comments:
Post a Comment