A few years ago, my younger brother, Mahlon Dickerson Manson, III was guided to know that, “ Revelation comes only to one person. To others, the Truth is hearsay.” Our first hand experiences will verify the stories we hear.
In the Bible, (found in John 4:7 ) the story is told of a woman of Samaria whose revelation became a shared experience with a whole community. The woman had come to a community well to get water. There, as she begins to fill her buckets, a stranger appears.
The man speaks to her. He says, “I know of your life, and your marriages. Until now, your life has been a wasted one, but you can change your life. You wonder that I know about you?” (Jesus often hid his identity from others. but he wants to help the woman.) He said, “I am the Christ.”
The men of that day customarily discounted the value of women, Some people also, had little regard for the Samaritans. In contrast, Jesus bestows blessings on every person, and peoples: men, women, children, Samaritans......
The Samaritan woman says to Jesus, “I have a question that has troubled me for a long time. Women are not permitted to go into the Temple. Can we pray only in theTemple ?”
Jesus said, (as found in John 4:23 ) “The time is coming when you will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” “God is not in temples. You can worship God, wherever you are.” The woman said, “ I must run to the village with the good news.” When she reached the village she shouted with excitement, “Come! Come, see for yourselves. The Savior is here!"
The villagers hurry to the well. “Is the woman’s story hearsay? Here is a stranger, as she said.” Jesus, then, speaks to the people, “ I am the Christ, and have come to help you learn kindlier ways to live among one another. I will be with you in person for only a few days, but my Spirit is always with you to guide you. ” What a joyous Promise for the Samaritans! Christ’s loving Spirit, in this day, still calls the world to love one another.
marylee manson armour 12/3/04, 12/13/04
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2 comments:
Even though revelation is hearsay to everyone except the revelatee, many people will still gather 'round to follow the hearsay. That's OK as long as the revelatee doesn't add his own insight and spin on the orginal message. Unfortunately, most do. Look at Moses. The ten commandments might have been spoken by God-- but in the next few verses of the Bible Exodus 21 God is quoted as explaining how to buy and sell slaves. I have to think God has an entirely different opinion on slavery.
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