RC Principle #3

#3 : Help Everyone Achieve Their God-Given Potential

Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”
- John 4:39

In March we are continuing our look at the gospels where Redemptive Compassion principles shine like jewels in the life of Christ. One consistent theme is that Jesus sees things differently than we do. He sees people for who they truly are. And how people are seen makes all the difference in the trajectory of their lives.

In John 4, Jesus has an unusual encounter with a woman at a well near Samaria. It's unusual because she went alone during the heat of the day. Unusual because Jesus initiated conversation by asking her for a drink. A Samaritan. A woman. An outcast. So many barriers; so many reasons not to talk with her, but that is exactly what Jesus did.

Dialogue between Jesus and the woman reveals that she is trapped. Separated by racial and gender barriers. Locked in her sinful lifestyle. Entrenched in a religious divide about the right place to worship. But here she is, talking to Jesus, who identifies himself as the Messiah. Jesus, who can tell her “everything she ever did” and love her across all the barriers. 

Before this encounter, what kind of potential did this woman think she had in life? What would the people in her city have said? Jesus sees through all her questions and issues. Not only that, he sets her free to achieve her God-given potential. So while the disciples are still marveling that he talked with a woman, she’s running back to the city to share about Jesus with anyone who will listen. And many believe in Him because of her words. She's an evangelist!

Only Jesus knows the God-given potential in people. Let’s partner well with His Spirit; be open for unusual encounters to unlock and unleash people’s true potential.