Encounters of the Best Kind
We have encounters every day that range from good to bad to downright ugly. Most of our encounters come through other people, but we can have one reading a book, watching a show, or walking alone in a quiet place. Things can cause encounters with the truth about ourselves and get us thinking. Some of these reflective encounters are part of my downright ugly ones if I want to be honest with myself.
But what is the best kind of encounter? It is one that points at your ugly, explains the bad consequences of keeping the ugly, and gives you a good example of what you should do instead. It causes you to change because there is no way to go forward without doing so. I’ll put my encounter with Jesus in February 2002 at the top of my encounters of the best kind list. I had to put my foot down on a lot of things in my life, several immediately and others as I learned more about myself and Jesus over the years. I still have downright ugly encounters because I have things I must let go or unlearn from my past. These help me stay on track for a fulfilling life full of joy that the world can’t give. Despite everything, I truly believe I have an abundant and good life.
So let’s dive into a little study from the Bible about encounters with Jesus and how they turned into the best kind for those involved.
Some of the encounters happened because Jesus had to go there. One of these instances occurs in John chapter four, where it starts off that he needed to go through Samaria. Now in those days, the Jews and Samarians wanted nothing to do with each other and the Jews saw the Samarians as lesser and not worth encountering. Jesus as a Jew could have very well gone around Samaria like every other Jew did. However, God had other ideas and Jesus needed to go through Samaria.
This need led to the encounter with the woman at the well. A Samarian woman came out in the middle of the day for water. This is not the norm because it is hot then and lugging water is not easy. Women would go early in the morning and just before night fell. So why did this woman come out in the middle of the day? One, was to isolate herself from others. She wasn’t living right and knew it. However, she did not know how to change it. Everything the world teaches us, then and now, about drive and hope is commonly rooted in anxiety and emptiness rather than something peaceful and full. The world hasn’t figured out how to fill our spiritual side.
Jesus mentions the men in her life, but not to be condescending with all her bad choices. It was to make her realize she ran to satisfy herself with them, but it always proved temporary. However, Jesus knew of the water she needed to quench the thirst of her spirit. She realizes she has never connected to the right source. With that, she runs into town, telling everyone about the man at the well. Remember, this is a woman who has been isolating herself most of her life. She spills her life out to them all and tells how her encounter at the well changed her way of thinking. The whole village goes to see Jesus and they all are changed.
He made her face her ugly that had led to bad choices and made her see a good option. Thus, she had an encounter of the best kind without even expecting it.
Now in the chapter before, John 3, Nicodemus seeks out Jesus at night when the others won’t see him. He is a part of the Sanhedrin after all, and they were up in arms about who Jesus claimed to be and how he did things. He gets a very pointed message from Jesus unlike the woman at the well. After all, the Sanhedrin are the religious leaders and are supposed to know who God is and how to lead people to him.
He corrects Nicodemus by saying he is not doing it right because he is not seeing right. He has to be born again in order to see correctly. We have absolutely no choice in our physical birth, and there is no way for us to conduct our own spiritual birth by our efforts alone. Pretty much Jesus is telling him self righteousness and following the rules is not enough to know the truth of who God is and to relate to Him. What we must do is accept God’s love because we cannot earn it or gain it with our efforts. Nicodemus sees Jesus is the only way to God and is the Christ. He sought for the answers and gained them.
Any encounter with Jesus will shine the light on our darkness. We can decide to hide from the light, but we can’t do that and have any true peace in our lives. I was seeking for a peace the world could not supply. I was trying all sorts of worldly things like the woman at the well. I kept seeking until Jesus lined up an encounter with Him. That was the best encounter ever, though He pulled out my obvious and ugly darkness to show me why I had so many bad consequences for my choices.
Psalm 16:11 tells us we have a fullness of joy in God’s presence. We have to let the light shine on our darkness and let ourselves see the love of God in order to find truth and peace the world can never give. Is it easy? No. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Will life get any easier with Jesus? No, but it’s way more fun and joyful despite what is happening. I suggest giving it a try like I did. My only regret is that I should have done it sooner, but that would change my testimony.
For further study, check out Chapters 3 and 4 of the book of John and read Psalm 16 in its entirety. If you don’t have a bible, you can go to https://www.blueletterbible.org/ and enter John 3 and pick any version to read. I suggest trying NKJV and NLT for ease of reading and some comparison to help you understand.