Some ask about our ministry, "Why don't you tell these girls to stop getting themselves in this situation? Can't you just sit them down when they have that test and tell them they are living in sin?"
If we take a look at the Samaritan woman in John 4, whose life is much like that of our clients, we see Jesus approach her much differently. Instead of pointing to her shortcomings, Jesus first offered her living water, which only He could offer. She was amazed, and she
wanted to hear more from this Man.
Only then, after reaching out to her need, did Jesus ask her to call her husband. We know the story: she had no husband, though she had been a wife to five different men. She, like many we see, was in the midst of yet another dead-end relationship, this time living with a man outside of marriage.
Yet instead of condemning, Jesus actually complimented her for telling the truth about her failed past. What could have been a terribly humiliating moment turned into a life-changing encounter.
This moment with the Samaritan woman in John 4 provides a powerful picture of what this ministry is about. Our message is not one of condemnation, but is one of hope and joy as we offer living water.
We are not here to avoid the truth--Jesus certainly did not--but when presented in love, truth unlocks the door of freedom.
So when a woman comes to us, we are reminded that while her choices may have put her in a difficult situation, she is not the first. A woman went to a well in Samaria, suffering from a string of poor choices. Jesus could have condemned, and He could have sent her on her way, teaching us all a lesson of "righteousness". But without condemning, He offered her living water, a gift that brings life.
She chose life. And if we keep reading in John 4, we find that others followed her. At her darkest hour, Jesus showed up. And a life was changed forever. This is a story worth emulating and at Pregnancy Care Center we seek to see this story come true again and again.
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