Who Do They See?

I am not one to disagree with the Word of God.  Both my wife and I always tended to take the Word pretty literally within the context of which it was written and/or its agreement to God’s nature and way that is congruent throughout the whole Bible.  But as I was speaking out my New Year’s theme and confession that is based on I Peter 1:8 yesterday morning, I suddenly had to stop when I realized that I couldn’t really say what Peter was professing!  But before you go off thinking that I am heading onto some outlandish blasphemous tangent let me explain…

The verse tells us “Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.” (I Peter 1:8 ISV)  My point of contention came when I read this scripture and quite rapidly pictured that young teen age girl back in September of 1970 that almost immediately absconded with my heart.  Okay… Okay… I may not have physically seen Jesus… but I DEFINITELY saw Jesus in her… and He was shining as brightly as the warm Indian Summer day that was occurring at that time of year back in Santa Rosa, California!

At that time in my life I was hungry for the things of God but my strong Catholic background gave me very little detail about Jesus the Son of God.  We celebrated His birth at Christmas and His death and resurrection at Easter, but other than that I never really learned who He was nor of the purpose of His appearing on the earth in human form!  And then at seventeen years of age… well this may sound a little cliché… but along came Piper!  

I don’t need to repeat how she lived her life except that I quickly came to realize that it was almost like Jesus and her were one in the same.  I’m not trying to say that she WAS Jesus but her life, her thoughts, her mannerisms, her words, her personality and her actions vividly demonstrated the Jesus that I serendipitously came to know as I began to know her and study the Bible that she gave to me!

New found scriptures like 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Ephesian 1:23 where the Apostle Paul writes “You are Christ's body and each of you is an individual part of it,” or “The church is Christ's body and completes him as he fills everything in every way.” (God’s Word ©) began to take on a curious interest to me!  Over the decades since those beginning years of my Christian faith, I have often times heard it said that “The only Jesus that some people may ever see might just be you!”

So, while I do understand what Peter was saying in 1 Peter 1:8, I by no means take it as an excuse for not living Jesus wherever I go and whom ever I may be with.  It was easy when Piper and I were locked in faith for the healing of her body over the last ten or so years.  We had chosen a course of action and were driven to see it through.  To us, every thing we did or said was of vital importance, a matter of life and death as we found ourselves “casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 1:5 EMTV)

But now with that stand of faith completed, the pressure has lessened!  Today as I seek to find my new purpose in life, I know that I need to retain the same dedication and presence of mind to be like Him as I walk this new path!  How are you handling your presence or maybe better said... His presence... in your everyday life?  Are you a Piper in someone else’s life?  I know that I am committed to keeping her legacy alive throughout the rest of my days!  How about you?

Who do people see when they look at you?

Have a great weekend, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting people to see Jesus in me as I go out into my world today!”