I Want to "See Jesus"

“Open our eyes, Lord We want to see Jesus,
To reach out and touch Him, And say that we love Him.
Open our ears, Lord And help us to listen.
Open our eyes, Lord We want to see Jesus.”

Having just come out of the Christmas Season, I am reminded of those who were part of the story that “SAW” Jesus and embraced Him as the long awaited King. (The shepherds, the Magi, Simeon and Anna) When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He walked through towns and the countryside, passing by a lot of people on the way. To some He was probably no more than another teacher passing through speaking about new ideas with those who would take the time to listen. To some He may have just been an interruption to life. To still others, He was the answer that their heart was so longing for. He was the answer for something far greater than just living a life for self.

Within the heart of every person is the desire to know, “Why am I here? What is my ultimate purpose in life?” For too many, their search never goes beyond the boundaries of their own self. That makes for a small world. To those who believe that there has to be One far greater than myself that has made me, God is eager to make Himself known to them. Accepting the truth that there is a God who has made me and invites me into a relationship with Him so that I can know His heart and mind is a humbling thought. What an amazing adventure He calls us to.

When God wrapped Himself in human flesh and came to this world, He showed us how to live our lives; loving and serving others as well as worshipping God and God alone. His teachings shook the way many lived, right to the core. The economics of an individual or of a town were threatened where they relied on the income from objects of worship to other gods, or where unfair advantages were taken of a lesser class in the area. Philosophically and religiously the population was challenged to the core by the teachings of Christ. Attitudes and treatment of others as well as religious practices that were demeaning to human life were placed on trial by the lessons that Jesus taught.

There is a game, Mad Gab, that we play sometimes, that puts together what looks like a random collection of letters onto a playing card. It appears, at first glance, to say absolutely nothing. When you try reading the card out loud you begin to hear a phrase that seems familiar to you. Eventually the light comes on (most of the time) and you really hear what was intended to be heard. Let me tie this example to our quest of “seeing Jesus”. When we consider the teachings of Christ for our lives we might look at them like we do the letters on the game card. That does not make any sense at all. Let me just throw a couple out there as an example. “Love your enemies.” “Forgive those who sin against you.” “Anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The more that we hear Christ’s words and the more that we trust Him, the words begin to make more sense to us. We move further outside of the boundaries of “self”. We begin to understand, we discover the difference that it makes in our life.

One of the crazy things about playing Mad Gab is that someone listening to the person trying to figure out the phrase hears what it is supposed to be but the player doesn’t know what they are saying. We can say the right things and even appear to be doing the right things in our lives and it may seem to others that we are walking with Christ. But in reality we may be so inwardly focused that we cannot see Jesus and we feel so lost inside. If we want to “see Jesus”, we must believe in faith that what He has already taught us in His word is truth, and walk in obedience to it. We must see the world as He sees it. We must weep over the things that He weeps over and rejoice over the things that He rejoices over.

When we “see Jesus”, it does not mean that life will be smooth sailing from here on, but it does mean we have a new level of courage and assurance that whatever comes our way we are not alone, He is right there with us. As you live out your life each day, open your eyes to “see Jesus”. When we come together for worship, open your eyes to “see Jesus”.
When life is hard and does not make sense, open your eyes and “see Jesus”. When life is going great and you feel like shouting and jumping up and down, open your eyes and “see Jesus”.

In all things, let me always “see Jesus”, and remember He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, my Savior, and my Friend.