profound love embodied
How can you practice active listening today and engage in meaningful dialogue with others?
John 4:9
The Samaritan woman asked him, “How can a Jewish man like you ask a Samaritan woman like me for a drink of water?”
The Samaritans of Jesus’s time were considered to be on the margins of Jewish society. And the fact that the Samaritan woman was a woman meant that folx judged and ostracized her even more than her male counterparts.
Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well defied all social norms. He didn’t avoid her, look away, or find another well.
He stood there and listened. He actively engaged with her, focusing all his attention on her words, bridging the differences and distance between their cultures. His willingness to connect with someone so different from himself is the perfect example of empathy, active listening, and nonjudgmental communication.
It’s a beautiful, moving picture of what Love embodied looks like. And this wasn’t the only time Jesus did this. Over and over in Scripture, Jesus touches the marginalized, heals the outcast, and allows those different from him to touch the edge of his garment.
He included everyone and demonstrated a profound love for all, regardless of background or identity.
How can you practice active listening today and engage in meaningful dialogue with others?