When Jesus began His ministry he was only 30 years old. It is tempting to see Him as this larger than
life entity, being as He was the very nature of God. But He condescended from Heaven as man and
chose to set aside His powers. He only
performed works with the power on which He called down from God. He didn’t come to exhort you and me to be God
for we fall short every moment. He came to show us how to be the hands and feet
of God who works wonders, and brings comfort to the hurting. ‘As
Jesus walked in the region of Galilee, people were unaware of the staggering
reality that the Son of God Himself was talking to them face to face’ Experiencing
God, p. 28. Jesus repeatedly spoke
of engaging in the activity of God which was His work. As He went about His day, whomever God placed
in His path was attended to by Jesus through the power of God. Jesus surrounded Himself with the sinners,
the sick and the weak. They recognized
Him because of the power accessed through Him for their healing.
So the question this morning is are we any better at
recognizing Jesus today than the people of ancient times? If what we do for Christ is determined by
what we do for others how are doing? Do others recognize Jesus in how we approach them...how we offer ourselves in their time of need. I
sometimes fall into the mental trap of questioning the significance
of my activities. In asking God this
morning for reassurance that every little work is important in the kingdom He
lifted Matthew 25:40 to my heart and mind.
It reminded me of His exchange with Paul on the road to Damascus, ‘Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out
murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples…‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute
me?’ Acts 9:1-4. Saul had never even
met Jesus but it didn’t matter for he had been involved with the persecution of
people Christ loved. What he did to others was counted as what he did to God.
Things are no different today as we are met daily with the
needs of others. God places people in
our path who are in need of a Savior. If
we only surround ourselves with our equals and our own circle of friends to
what gain was it for the kingdom? When
we see ourselves as too important to really see
people instead of seeing through them
we have failed to recognize Jesus. Jesus
is the woman who is at the entrance of your store collecting money for
recovered addicts. Jesus is the man with
dirty hands approaching you in parking lots for a quarter. Jesus is the man or woman on the outside of
your home waiting for you to respond to the activity of God. When God called Jesus to help the poor and
needy, Jesus never considered the person’s honesty. He allowed God to provide opportunities for
His work to be done, and trusted God to handle the heart of the recipient.
Whatever you do and whatever you say to whom you come in
contact, remember that there is a very good chance you are coming in contact
with Jesus. Bless one person and you have
blessed Christ.
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