Going Into Your Samaria

My brother preached at my church Sunday night, and he brought out a point that I hadn't ever really thought about. He brought a sermon out of John 4 where Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well.
I'd always heard about how Jews weren't supposed to associate with Samaritans. Samaritans were considered beneath them. A Jew was supposed to go out of his way to avoid going through Samaria.
But Jesus said he, "must needs go through Samaria." And you want to know what, it wasn't even in his direction. He went OUT OF HIS WAY to go through the place that most avoided. He went out of His way to a place of discomfort in order to bring this woman the Water of Life.
Then my brother said something that really convicted me. He said, "How many times do you go out of your way to go through your Samaria?"
And I honestly had to say, "Oh me!" Because as much as we try to say that the Jews were being racist or terrible, how many of us are just like them. How many of us would drive 20 miles out of our way in order to avoid getting gas at the gas station in the bad part of town.
Now, I know that we all use the same excuses. "It's just not safe to go there." "The gas is cheaper at the nicer gas station." And those excuses may be true. The question is, if Jesus called you to go and stand by a gas pump and pump gas for strangers in a bad part of town, would you be willing to do it. Would you be willing to make yourself uncomfortable in order to win someone for Christ?
Before you say, "Well, Jesus isn't ask me to risk my life!" I have to say, our lives are not our own. And if Jesus calls us to do something, I believe He will offer His protection to us.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was convicted that I need to get more out of my comfort zone. I need to be more willing to go into my Samaria when I'm called there. (And we are all called there. After all Jesus included Samaria in His great comission in Acts 1:8.) Who knows, maybe you'll see me at the gas station someday!