Good Morning Friends,
I was listening to a Christian radio station in the car and the topic was about seeing the face of Jesus in heaven and it got me thinking about what I believed in that regard and how I would imagine now what Jesus might look to me then. Well, if you do not believe in God that is one thing, but if you do you really have to wrestle with today’s question. Are You A Living Example Of Someone Working Responsibly Preparing To Meet Jesus?
Scripture: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors.
Matthew 23:27-32 (NRSV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NRSV)
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 (NRSV)
Message: Four years ago, Malcolm, a friend of mine, introduced me to the hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. The refrain goes… “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.” (And no, the PCUSA hymnal does not have it.) But it does relate to today’s question and the challenge of communicating with others as we look into their eyes and lives. You see,part of our heritage is not so wonderful as I have written about before. We all are biased. We have made the image of Jesus in art to look like us, for scripture leaves exactly what he looks like a mystery. But then we were made in the image of God. So, we must accept personal responsibility for doing what we can quietly as well as publicly, to move the needle of the Kingdom to Come and the Body of Christ now, knowing that there is a time and season to everything, including a time when we meet Jesus and hopefully recognize him in the people we helped along the way. We must fully understand with a focus that until the Lord returns there are souls to reach and ministries of every sort to be performed as the hands and face of Jesus as the giver and receiver. And we are responsible for our money, time, energy, talents, gifts, bodies, minds, and spirits, and we should invest in nothing that does not in some way contribute to the work of the Lord. Sometimes it will be small acts of grace to buy culture more time to heal but knowing that justice is also required.The Bible teaches us that our responsibility as believers is to work uncompromisingly as the Lord has gifted us and share what we have learned about God but to listen too to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For sure, not everyone is made to be an evangelist or social change agent and fewer still do so in foreign countries, but everyone is called to a purpose. The harsh reality is that in countries like North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen, Christians suffer persecution. The same is true in parts of India and South America. Indeed, knowing where to go and what to do is not so easy. It must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps your ministry might be closer to home with family and friends and acquaintances. Jesus told the disciples to go first to the Jews. So, the local globalization goal is nothing new. Still there is a test and whether it is a call to Wall Street or Main Street or the back alleys of slums around the world or even rural villages needing water and power or flooded cities needing evacuation, I cannot say. But wherever you go, if you go, know that as with Paul there will be times of testing. Some will persevere and others pack it in. And woe to those not prepared for the task even closer to home. One must figure out how. Oh, we can mind our own business, living in our comfort zone but how then can we demonstrate Christ in our life? Not everyone is willing to suffer the shame and sacrifice for Christ and not all are called to do this. It cannot be forced upon a person… it must be an act of free will… a choice led by the Spirit. So, do we live lives pleasing to God or lives pleasing to ourselves and others? Are we gentle, genuine and generous to others? Well, maybe we are and maybe we need some help to keep open to the calling of the Holy Spirit. Simply put, our responsibility lies in working for the Lord. And our motivation is that we have God’s own promise that our work is not in vain. Friends, when one door is shut another will open. Paul was given the responsibility to blaze a gospel trail to the Gentiles. Your journey will be different but know this, God does expect us to take personal responsibility in all areas of life with what we have been entrusted. We are to live our lives in the will of God. And that is something we must rediscover each day anew but will not know fully its ultimate purpose until that day we meet Jesus, face to face.
And So, our responsibility is to abide by the Word but in addition, the Word is to abide in us, transforming us in the Holy Spirit by God’s grace. And one way to do that is to look into the eyes of others as if we were looking into the eyes of Jesus. To be continually filled with God’s presence is in part our responsibility in conjunction with others of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit guiding it all, and that can be enjoyable and an act of love if we begin to see Jesus in the face of each person we meet. So, we cannot do this alone. We must ask God for the grace to experience the love of service to God. Here grace is an amazing thing, and I must admit that I have a hard time getting my arms and head around it. And that is both from the perspective of receiving grace and extending that grace to others. But as usual, God knows our difficulty and provides us with the presence of the Spirit. It is a gift but there are some things we need to consider related to our responsibility and our relationship with God. The Word and the Spirit must be in balance in the person of Jesus. Too much of academic scripture can dry us up in legalism. Too much Spirit in praise and enjoyment of the world can blow us up. We need a balance to grow up healthy. So as a friend of mine once put it, today is God’s present to us and what we do today is our present to God. We have a responsibility to unwrap this day with love in both our work and play. Maybe people have trouble envisioning seeing Jesus because they do not see the eyes of Jesus looking back at them in the mirror and are discomforted by the challenge of seeing Jesus in the poor and malnourished and others different from us. But if we become more like Jesus each day I believe the face in the mirror will be much more comforting to us and to others.
Pray we are filled with God’s presence in the unity of our lives so that our work and play become as one in love. Pray we open to new callings each day in the opportunities given to us. Pray we share what we have been entrusted as we are able. Pray the hole in our heart is filled with the truth of God. Pray we have a purposeful boldness that assures we are heard but not so bold as to get us killed. Pray we find a way to address God’s expectations, plans, purposes and priorities despite encountering hostility and hate. Pray we put away childish ways. Pray we make a commitment to both sow love and reap grace in the balance of a relationship with God. Pray we realize that we will be held personally responsible for our actions and lack of actions as well as attitude. Pray we realize that our faith without work accomplished is dead. Pray we are moved to do all the good we can where we can. Pray the Word of Christ dwells in us filling us in all wisdom, with grace in our hearts to the Lord guiding us. Pray we are obedient to God’s leading. Pray we believe and love. Pray the Holy Spirit gives us Jesus’ strength, wisdom, courage, and compassion to act wisely and to love unconditionally. Pray we become as one as Jesus prayed that we would even if it is difficult for us to love those in greatest need. Pray we overcome our feelings of inadequacy. Pray we recognize the eyes of Jesus looking back at us from the mirror, and in the eyes of each of those people we reach out to today believing that the image of God is in each of them. Pray we practice now in preparation for the days to come.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 