You may be the only JESUS some people see

“When I see Jesus Christ I simply want to be what He wants me to be.”

Oswald Chambers

When the historic Church of the Open Door was in downtown Los Angeles, I read that if you stood behind the pulpit you looked out into a massive auditorium consisting of a large first floor, a large balcony, and even a second balcony. Though I’ve never been there, it’s said that it could give you a feeling of importance just to stand there and look out at the large crowd that had gathered to hear you speak. Yet, just as your ego might begin to inflate, you quickly came down to earth when you looked down at a little plaque affixed to the pulpit with the words of John 12:21, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

  I haven’t preached in a lot of different places, but I’ve had the privilege of preaching in a few pulpits. In some of those I’ve looked down and seen those same words, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” It’s a humbling experience.

  Can I be honest? I find preaching an enormous task and responsibility. I pray each week that Scott Carson will get out of the way and that our church will see Jesus. I find myself whispering in prayer before I enter the pulpit, “Lord, please use this as an offering for Your glory.” I wish that I could say that when people always see me, they see Jesus. But to be honest, if I was my Heavenly Father, I wouldn’t put up with me…but He does.

  One of my favorite and most encouraging verses is 2 Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” We human beings, Imago Dei, are so frail, merely jars of clay. One little virus could end any and all of us.

  The kindness, the love, the grace, the spiritual power that the world needs to see isn’t in us. It’s Jesus! It’s the power of God.

  I like that analogy of jars. As jars, when we’re bumped what’s in us comes sloshing out of us. We’ve certainly seen that over the course of the last month and we shouldn’t be surprised when those who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior – act like those who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Often though I’m shocked and surprised at how Christians act in the midst of this crisis…and too often I’m shocked and disappointed at how I act in the midst of this crisis.

  I wish I could say that I haven’t felt angry, anxious or impatient. It was nearly a gut response when someone cut me off in a parking lot the other day as they barreled down the middle. My hand was laying on the horn nearly before I knew what I was doing. I’ve claimed 1 John 1:9 too many times, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Yet, every day and several times a day, I pray, “Lord, let others see Jesus in me.”

  Right now our world is very, very conscious that they don’t have the answers. They’re hoping to maybe “bend the curve” but that’s about all that they have. Like never before, they need to see Jesus. The hope is not for a cure or a government stimulus program. The only hope is the Savior because what ails our world is so much deeper than the physical. It’s spiritual and has eternal ramifications. They need to see Jesus. Let’s pray for each other that they will see Jesus in us!  

  There’s a magnificent story in Marie Chapian’s book, Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy. The book tells of the sufferings of the true church in Yugoslavia where so much evil was committed by the politicized ecclesiastical hierarchy. That which went on in the name of Christ for the enriching and empowering of corrupt church officials was horrible. It was professing Christians acting like anything but Jesus.

  One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a certain village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies that he’d experienced and talked to him about the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people. “My own nephew was killed by them,” he said and angrily rebuffed any effort on Jakov’s part to talk about Christ. “They wear those elaborate coats and caps and crosses,” he said, “signifying a heavenly commission, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore.”

  Jakov, looking for an occasion to get Cimmerman to change his line of thinking, said, “Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track; they recognized your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?”  “I would deny it,” said Cimmerman.

  “‘Ah, but we saw your coat,’ they would say,” retorted Jakov. This analogy quite annoyed Cimmerman, who ordered Jakov to leave his home. Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ, with him.

  Finally one day Cimmerman asked, “How does one become a Christian?” and Jakov taught him the simple steps of repentance for sin and of trust in the work of Jesus Christ and gently pointed him to the Shepherd of his soul. Cimmerman bent his knee on the soil with his head bowed and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, “Thank you for being in my life.” And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, “You wear His coat very well.”

  I want to do that, don’t you? “I want to wear His coat very well.” We can’t do it on our own and it can’t be worked up. It must be the Holy Spirit working out His grace through us. So, let’s surrender to Him. Let’s pray for each other in our church. And by God’s grace, let’s pray and commit together that when those who don’t know Him yet see us, they see Jesus!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.