Pleasing Jesus

⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
 ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
 ³³ Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
   ³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” John 4: 8, 31-38

I'm still amazed as to how much can be gleaned from this passage with the Samaritan woman.  I recently looked again at the interaction with the disciples around Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

The disciples went into town to buy food.  They were in an area that disgusted them, as the Samaritans were half breeds and according to their law, did not worship God properly.  Samaritans also worshiped idols.  

Yet they went into town to do what they thought would please Jesus.  

Meanwhile, Jesus is working on the spiritual needs, not physical.  So when the disciples return, they wonder what physical food Jesus ate.  What about their effort to get food from the town?  Jesus points out the harvest of Samaritans that were coming towards them.  This is the first time Jesus includes gentiles in His ministry.

I want to go back to what the disciples were doing.  They did what they thought Jesus wanted.  They thought they were pleasing Him with their works.

Do I do that?  Do I say, "I'm going to do this for God.  I want You to notice God and bless me for what I'm doing for you."?  Yet, I fulfill my need by what I did.

Yes, what I do should be for God, but is it God's will?  Am I telling God I'm willing to do what ever you ask as long as I can stay in my safe little place.  And PLEASE, don't ask me to speak to the Samaritans.  It was degrading enough just to purchase food from them.  Am I so focused on my own physical needs that I miss the spiritual needs before me?  

I am challenged to think outside my safe little world.  To look beyond what is happening before me.  To look the the spiritual aspects of those around me.  To point to Jesus, just as the Samaritan woman did.  

I've been patient (well perhaps not completely).  God is revealing His plan for me.  He's showing me the way.  Putting the people in my path to speak with.  He's formulating a plan.  Will I step completely on His next step for me?  We shall see.