What lines have I drawn around myself?
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
john 4:9, NLT
The lines we draw around ourselves feel real. Fill in the blank: I am a [fill in the blank]. Something probably came to mind. Line drawn. Again, fill in the blank: I am not a [fill in the blank]. Next line drawn.
Jesus loved blurring these lines. In every cultural way, he should not have been speaking with this Samaritan, this woman, this non-Jew. But that day at the well, he didn’t just blur her lines, he erased them.
He longs to do this with all of us—to erase the lines we’ve drawn around ourselves about our identities and give us something new.
ACT
Draw a box in pencil and put your name in the middle. Then erase the lines, line by line. In place of the lines, write verses that remind you who you really are.
pray
God, show me what lines I’ve drawn around myself. Help me erase them with your love.