March 5.
Ungodly Snobbery

John 4:4

And he must needs go through Samaria.

Jesus had left Judaea on was on his way to Galilee. Right in the middle of the region was a little place called Samaria, a town that was a mixed breed area. In 720 BC the northern kingdom invaded their privacy and captured all of the noted people and took them away captive. The only people left were illiterate folk, slow learners, sick and handicapped people – people who couldn’t keep up. Well, others moved in to try to rebuild the town and they started an interracial marital situation. When Ezra and Nehemiah came to rebuild the temple in 450 BC, a group of Samaritans came and offered their help. However, their help was refused because they were cross-breeds. A feud started in 450 BC and that feud was still going on when Jesus came many years later. So Jews would avoid the little town of Samaria.

However, Jesus had a reason for going through Samaria. He had a divine appointment. But first he had to deal with a racial barrier. Moreover, we still have to break down the racial barriers today. I need to tell us that the God I serve is not just a black man’s God. Some think we have special privileges because we are black and because we have suffered. Nor is He just a white man’s God or a red man’s God. He is our God. If there is any person who is color blind, it is our Heavenly Father. He doesn’t look at us from the color of our skin; he looks at us from sin. He is ready, willing and able to forgive all of us of all of our sins. We are going to have to learn as people of God to let down the barriers of the racial separation. It’s a shame that we can go play football and basketball side-by-side, we can work on the job side-by-side, but when we get ready to come to worship we go to our own separate places. Jesus went out of his way to take the good news of salvation to a different ethnic group and manifest God’s heart.