There Will Come a Day
There will come a day.
It will be a day much like all the other days of your life, yet this day will stand out in your memory as more significant than most other days. It could be a day that arrives with much fanfare, much preparation, and much anticipation.
The day you go on your first date.
The day you get your license.
The day you graduate.
The day you land your first real job.
The day you get married.
The day you hold your child for the first time.
The day you get the promotion.
The day you buy your first house.
The day you hold your first grandchild.
The day you retire.
Or it could be a day that arrives unexpectedly with no advance warning. A day in your life that you never anticipated but it is here nevertheless. A day for which you wished there had been time to prepare.
The day your heart gets broken.
The day you get in your first accident.
The day you don’t pass the final exam.
The day you get the rejection letter.
The day you discover he was cheating on you.
The day your child takes her last breath.
The day you get fired.
The day your house burns down.
The day you realize you can’t retire.
There will come a day. It will be a day much like all the other days of your life, yet this day will stand out in your memory as seemingly more significant than most other days. Have you ever had such a day?
The reality is that every day of our lives contains the possibility of great joy as well as the possibility of great tragedy. Some days contain both. I experienced one such day not too long ago. It was a day that began with the promise of great celebration but ended with great mourning.
The wedding took place mid-afternoon. My wife’s cousin was getting married, and I had the honor of performing the ceremony. The church was historic. The bride was beautiful. The groom was nervous. It was a day that had been anticipated for months if not years. A day that required countless hours of planning & preparation. Banquet facilities were reserved. Invitations mailed out. Order of ceremonies determined. Family traveled from numerous states to be in attendance. The music began and the bride & groom were joined by their friends & family members to celebrate the momentous occasion.
The reception following the ceremony was filled with great food, lots of laughter and memories shared. My family & I celebrated alongside the young couple and all of our extended family members. It was a night that we didn’t want to end. But we had a long drive ahead of us to get home, so we bade our farewells and left the upstairs reception hall.
As we walked down the stairs that evening, the unexpected took place. Joy gave way to tragedy. Celebration turned to mourning.
I had been notified of the accident earlier in the day as I stood outside of the church waiting for the ceremony to begin. A two-car accident back home in the town in which I was a pastor. The person who called didn’t have much information to share, but he wanted to make sure I knew about it. He suspected I might know one or more of the people involved as they were both young adults. I thanked him for the phone call and turned my attention back to the wedding ceremony at hand.
It was hours later as we were leaving the reception that we learned the devastating news. The name of the person who was killed in the accident was revealed.
We stopped walking. Mouths agape. Disbelief in our minds & hearts. There was nothing I could do to prepare for a moment like this. For a day like this.
There will come a day that stops you in your tracks. A day when your life changes forever because of unexpected news or an unplanned conversation. The woman at the well had one such day. It was a day for which she never could have prepared.
Even if you aren’t a follower of Jesus, you have probably heard of this famous encounter…
“Jesus came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.” (John 4:5–9)
This is a day that has been talked about for centuries. In one brief conversation, Jesus confronts social & geopolitical norms. He seems almost nonchalant in his disregard for them both. He doesn’t care that the person he is talking to is a woman. Nor does he care that she is from Samaria. He sees past all of those earthly realities and instead sees her through the eyes of her Heavenly Father. And what he sees breaks his heart and fills him with compassion.
He sees a woman whose days have become all too similar. A repetitious cycle of shame, scorn, isolation, relational chaos & hopelessness. If there was ever a woman whose life needed to be stopped in its tracks.
She asks questions of Jesus. He asks many of his own. She wants the conversation to remain safe. He wants the conversation to become more personal. “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to,” Jesus responds to her at one point.
As the conversation between the two unfolds, she discovers to whom she is speaking. She stands at the well with her mouth agape. Disbelief in her heart & mind. But then…
Belief.
Joy.
Hope.
Worship.
On this unexpected day with this unplanned encounter with the Messiah, she casts aside all of the scorn and shame she had been experiencing for years. She pushes past her forced isolation. She runs and tells the rest of the village about the man who knew everything about her.
About the man who stopped her in her tracks.
About the day her life changed forever.
Have you ever had such a day?
