Company Man: The woman at the well, revised

Imagine the story of the woman at the well, had a modern day evangelical been there instead of Christ.

 

CHRISTIAN: Hi there.

WOMAN: Hello.

CHRISTIAN: Would you mind giving me a drink?

WOMAN: If you knew who I was, you wouldn't be asking me.

CHRISTIAN: Why not? Who are you?
WOMAN: Well, I've had several husbands, and the man I'm living with is someone else's husband.

CHRISTIAN: Oh. (scoots away) I see.

WOMAN: Do you still want some water?

CHRISTIAN: No, no, I'm good.

WOMAN: What's the matter?

CHRISTIAN: Well, not to tell you what to do or anything. But you really need Jesus.

WOMAN: Jesus?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, Jesus. God's son.

WOMAN: The Messiah?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, that's the one.

WOMAN: I would love to meet him. Is that possible?

CHRISTIAN: Well, yes.

WOMAN: What must I do?

CHRISTIAN: Well, you've gotta move out of that guy's house for one thing.

WOMAN: Where will I go?

CHRISTIAN: I don't know. But anywhere besides there.

WOMAN: Do I really need to do this to meet Jesus? I mean, won't he see me anyway?

CHRISTIAN: No, I'm really sorry.

WOMAN: But I have no place else to go.

CHRISTIAN: You know, if you really wanted to meet him, you'd find some place.

WOMAN: Can I move in with you?
CHRISTIAN: Oooh, see, I'd love to let you, but our guest room's a mess. And we have kids.

WOMAN: I like kids.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, but see, we're trying to give them, you know, positive values?

 

Jesus didn't happen upon the woman at the well. He knew she was coming. He went there to wait for her. He sought her out. Most of us are too busy qualifying the people who want to come spend time with us Christians to bother going out and seeking the lost.

 

That's why I wrote Company Man, to call people back to the core of what it means to be like Christ. Our job is not to demand others live by the law. Our job is to live by the law ourselves while reaching out in love to others.

 

Like and office manager who has lost all concept of what it was like to be 'in the trenches," the church has become far too insulated from the world to reach it effectively. The world's not coming to us. We have to get out of our churches and get back to seeking and saving the lost!