DID YOU SEE JESUS?

A funny story one of the guys told at our men’s breakfast: A drunk was wondering by the river when he came upon a preacher standing in the river dunking people into the water. He waded into the water and came up to the preacher who asked him if he wanted to be baptized. He said that he would. So the preacher dunked him under the water, said a few words and then asked him after he shook of the water, “Did you see Jesus?” He said that he had not.

The preacher dunked him again while holding him under a bit longer. When he came sputtering to the surface, the preacher asked him again if he had seen Jesus. Again he replied in the negative. So the preacher tried one more time holding him under for what seemed like almost too long. He asked the same question about seeing Jesus. The man said “No.” But then added, “He must have fallen in somewhere else.”

There’s a lesson there and it is obvious that it is not about the third time being the charm. It is, however, about seeing Jesus. For that same question could be asked of each one of us being stone sober every day of our lives. “Did you see Jesus today?” we are asked. If we respond in the negative it is not because Jesus must have been somewhere else when we were looking for him. The reason is that we weren’t looking for him.

All we have to do is open our eyes and we will see Jesus, see Jesus in every person we meet, pass by, think about, see on television, communicate with on Facebook, converse with by tweeting, etc., etc., etc. Jesus is in every person, including and especially us, because each one of us is a child of God. That being said, it means that somehow in some way we can see Jesus in every person.

Granted, that is sometimes very hard to do especially when the person we are encountering has done or said something horrific, ungodly, obscene. Nevertheless, Jesus is somewhere in that person. It is up to us to find that Jesus and, even more so, to help that person to see the Jesus living inside.

Jesus spent his whole ministry finding the good even in those whose actions were not good at all, in the people who were out to get him and in the people who were putting him to death. When he forgave them from the cross, he hoped they would hear his words, look inside themselves and see that good for themselves. He could not make them see. They would have to see for themselves. All he could do was tell them that it was there. Now it was up to them to search their hearts for it.

The same is true for you and me. When others see us living out our faith especially when it is difficult, our actions prod them to look inside themselves. When we see others living out their faith, their actions prod us to look inside ourselves. The question always remains to be asked of us each day: “Did you see Jesus?” What will our answer be?