Samaritan Encounters

And he had to pass through Samaria...A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) John 4:4,7-9
I came across another subject that is quite familiar to believers and non-believers--the Samaritan. Many people are well acquainted with the story of the Good Samaritan, but what about the bad Samaritan? Jesus encountered a "bad Samaritan" and reached out to her. The good Samaritan is someone that we all should strive to be like as Jesus clearly instructs us he says: Jesus said to the lawyer that he was telling the parable to, "You go, and do likewise." (Luke 10:37)
The Samaritan woman was not exactly a role-model. The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." (John 4:17,18)
This got me thinking and wondering who exactly these Samaritans are. I always just assumed that they were simply some heathen people that nobody liked but it turns out that they were actually descendants of the Northern tribes of Israel. They were actually quite religious and some articles even say that they were more Orthodox than the Jews and they had their own version of the Pentateuch. Even the Samaritan woman says: "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."
So it seems that the Jews didn't associate with the Samaritans because they didn't worship God in the same way. This is so prevalent in our society today! So many groups believe that they are superior to others in the way that they worship God and won't even associate with those that disagree.
There are so many groups that are despised for one reason or another and we feel justified in our stances. Who do you despise? Is it smokers? Is it "trailer-trash"? Is it another ethnic group? Whatever group it is, God hasn't called us to judge as He says in Luke 6:37 (another familiar and often misinterpreted verse)

Born from Above

There are so many verses in the Bible that many have become so familiar with that they lose their meaning in our minds. These verses may be branded into our thoughts but we need to really meditate on them for a fresh understanding. I realized that this morning while I was reading John 3. Nicodemus approached Jesus saying "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him" Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." How many of us can spit that verse out without giving it another thought? Or if we do give it another thought do we have the correct understanding of it's meaning?
The term "born-again" has certain connotations, even to non-believers--it can mean anything from being a "Jesus Freak" to turning over a new leaf or someone "pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps"
In my opinion I believe that some words in the Bible have been poorly translated and thus lose their meaning somewhat. Jesus actually said something more to the effect of being "born from above" not just being "born again. Being born from above is much more powerful than being born again--being born from above gives ALL credit to God in heaven. Anyone can turn over a new leaf or pull themselves up by their bootstraps to get a new lease on life but no one can give life from above to someone.
Jesus also said "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
If we rely on ourselves for any part of our spiritual life it will produce nothing of eternal value and from what Jesus said, will not bring us into the kingdom of God.
I need the kind of life that only comes from God.