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REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is “The Samaritan woman and our true colours”. Our true colours mean our real character or who we truly are as opposed to what others think of us. We shall reflect on the following facts:
1. When we encounter Jesus, our true colours are exposed.
2. When we welcome Jesus into our lives we shall experience repentance and regeneration.

Beloved in the Lord, when we encounter Jesus, our true colours, character or identity is exposed. When the Samaritan woman met Jesus for the first time, Jesus revealed her true colours as an adulterous and unstable person in her relationship. He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:16-18). Dear friend, Jesus is able to expose our true colours no matter how hidden they are because He is the light that “….shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5). Again, Jesus assures us that “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Like the Samaritan woman, any time we come close to Jesus or have an encounter with Him, He exposes our true colours through the power of the Gospel. Indeed, anytime we listen attentively to the Word of God, whether in Church or elsewhere, our hidden character is exposed and our conscience is awoken and greatly challenged. One of the reasons many try to avoid the preaching of the Gospel or are hostile to preachers of the Gospel is that it exposes their true colours. We see the true reflection of who we are when we invite Jesus into our lives by accepting or listening to the Gospel. Beloved in the Lord, since you encountered Jesus, have you discovered your true colours? Are these colours or the hidden character still present in your life? If you discover your true colours after having an encounter with Jesus, what must you do? This leads us to our second point or fact.

Secondly, my dear friend in the Lord, we experience repentance and regeneration when we welcome Jesus into our lives. The Samaritan woman could have ignored Jesus or walked away from Him when He asked her for water. Initially, “The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) (John 4:9). In the end, she did not ignore Jesus but had time to listen to Him, and that led to her repentance and regeneration or transformation. Jesus said to her “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:13-15) Later, her true colours were exposed as an adulterous woman during her encounter with Jesus. To demonstrate her repentance and regeneration after meeting Jesus, we are told she immediately left her jar and went back to the town to make known her encounter with Jesus to other folks, saying ““Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him…Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers. ⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42 (John 4:29-30). The Samaritan woman’s repentance and regeneration led her to share the Good News about Jesus. Through her evangelism she produced fruits. Through her encounter with Jesus, she became fishers of men and women in Samaria. Beloved in the Lord, have you wholeheartedly welcomed Jesus into your life? If you have, are you preaching the Gospel or Good News to demonstrate your transformational encounter with Jesus? Unfortunately many have hardened their heart even after their true colours have been exposed. We have refused to repent and are still living a life of deception. The colours we demonstrate to the world are not the true colours that exist within us. No wonder Paul admonished us in 1 Corinthians 18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Shalom.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “The Samaritan woman and our true colours”. We have learnt that our true colours mean our real character or who we truly are. In our reflection, we have discovered that like the Samaritan woman, when we encounter Jesus, our true colours will be exposed and our lives shall experience repentance and regeneration if we welcome Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Saviour. Again, when we have experienced the transformational power of the Gospel, we must also evangelise to enable the lost and the perishing to come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, let the power of the Gospel expose our true colours and cause our conscience to be restless until we have produced the fruits of repentance and regeneration. May the Holy Spirit sustain and strengthen us to live a transformed and victorious life even as we preach the Gospel to those who are lost and perishing in the world. Amen.