If You Knew Who You Were Talking To...

By Dan Franklin, Pastor of Teaching

In the television show Undercover Boss, wealthy CEOs go undercover, working for a week in entry-level positions in their own companies. During this week, their employees interact with them without knowing their true identity. Some are respectful. Some are casual. Some are rude and condescending. But one thing is certain: each person would interact differently if they knew who they were talking to.

Imagine talking to the Son of God without knowing His true identity. This is exactly what happens in John 4. A Samaritan woman has a conversation with Jesus. She is frank, honest, and not terribly impressed with Him. And at one point in the conversation Jesus gives her a piece of advice. He basically says, “If you knew who you were talking to, it would change the way you’re speaking to me.”

Now, without finishing Jesus’ statement, think of all the things you can imagine Him saying. If you knew who you were talking to, you would fall on your face and beg my forgiveness. If you knew who you were talking to, you would stand at attention and shout out my praises. If you knew who you were talking to, you would instantly start doing things for me. If you knew who you were talking to...

The way we finish this sentence says a lot about what we think about God. How do we think He wants us to treat Him? How does He want us to interact with Him, once we have embraced the reality of who He is?

Here is the exact quote from Jesus in John 4:10: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Take a moment to take in the significance of Jesus’ words. If you knew who was speaking to you...
you would ask Him to give a gift to you. Jesus does not say that the appropriate response to His identity is shame or guilt or fear. In this case, He simply says that a proper response to Him would be to ask Him for help. He wishes that the woman was saying to Him, “You’re the Son of God? Then can you please give me new life instead of leaving me to myself to try to figure this out on my own?!”

And Jesus uses rich and vivid imagery. He offers her living water. He says later that if she drinks the water that He offers, then her thirst will be fully quenched. He says that He not only wants to meet her surface needs, but instead He wants to meet her deepest and most profound needs. The reason that He wants her to recognize Him is so that she can ask Him to give her the gifts that only God can give.

Jesus came to reveal God to us. The mystery of God has been declassified in His Son, Jesus. In each of His speeches, each of His miracles, and each of His actions, He shows us God’s heart. He shows us not simply abstract attributes of God, but the practical way that God behaves toward us. The way that Jesus invites us to respond to Him is also the way that we are invited to respond to God.

When you pray, what do you imagine God is saying to you? Do you imagine Him saying, “Do better!” or “Bow lower!” or “Figure it out!” If we really embrace the heart of Jesus in this story, then it is more likely that He is saying, “If you really embraced the truth about me, you would confidently ask me to meet all of your deepest needs.” 

If this is truly God’s attitude toward you, don’t hesitate to take Jesus up on His offer.