In 1990 I taught a Sunday school class which I entitled “Encounters With Christ.” Each week we studied an incident recorded in the gospels in which Jesus interacted with one person. Some of the people we studied included, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, Thomas, the sinful woman, the rich young man, Peter, as well as number of others. For the final class, I wrote the following, hoping to capture the spirit of the class and especially to show that, through it all, we were really studying about ourselves. I give it to you now for whatever benefit it may have. Feel free to share it, but notice the copyright at the end. I would appreciate it if you would include that copyright notice if you copy and paste this. Here is that summary.
Where can I find Jesus?
Where can I find Jesus?
The question is not new. It was asked two thousand years ago:
by a man possessed by a legion of demons.
by a rich young man, seeking a finishing touch to a successful life.
by a woman in a backwater town who knew all too well the heavy weight racial prejudice and moral self-righteousness could place on a heart already weighed down by guilt.
by a religious scholar who still possessed enough of his ideals to dream, but not enough faith to believe his dreams could be transformed into reality.
by a prostitute, needing desperately to be told that even she was worth saving.
by a friend who had trusted Jesus, and could not understand why He had allowed her brother to die.
by a trusted disciple who had made glowing promises, then failed Him miserably.
by a doubting disciple who so wanted to believe, but for whom the forces of this world seemed too real.
Where can I find Jesus?
The question is not new. It has been asked throughout the
centuries by:
scholars and sinners.
mystics and merchants.
preachers and popes.
princes and paupers.
teachers and tradesmen.
legalists and liberals.
Where can I find Jesus?
The question is not new. It is still being asked by millions of people every day who have discovered (often too late) that the foundation on which they have chosen to build their life will not support them.
Where can I find Jesus?
He walks among us every day, but we are often too busy to see Him.
He is in our churches, but often best observed, not in the pulpit, but rather in the faces of our children, who in their innocence can still sing without fear and without doubt, “Yes, Jesus loves me.”
He is at the bedside of a child, seeing not the child, but watching in sorrow as the parents grasp desperately for hope when the doctors have none to offer.
He can be found standing beside the soldier, peering out into the darkness, who with trembling hand and unblinking eyes, fervently prays that he may see nothing throughout a long, fearful night.
He is a silent participant in board meetings, watching in sorrow the accounts of profit and loss, the futile search of one more generation of “rich young men” seeking security and fulfillment from the whispered promises of the elusive siren of success.
He is the constant companion of the elderly, those who have been mothers, fathers, teachers, doctors, preachers, and workers, and who now wonder if their lives had meaning.
He is an unregistered guest in our nursing homes, providing comfort to the lonely and encouragement to the sick and neglected.
Where can I find Jesus?
We search for Him in churches, in books, in friends, in laughter, in sorrow and in pain.
And if we look with the eye of faith, we shall assuredly see Him, for truly He has promised to be with us always–in every time, at every place, and under all circumstances.
But if we would see Him most clearly and observe His love most fully, we must search where He Himself said we should find Him–among “the least of these.”
Then, as we reach out in love and compassion to those in need, we shall see Him clearly, and doubt will be transformed into faith.
And we shall find ourselves, like Thomas of old, exclaiming in adoration, “My Lord and my God.”
Where can I find Jesus?
There is one final place. He will be the last guest to leave the cemetery.
And He will not depart alone, for He will most surely take me with Him.
© Gary Cottrell
August 26, 1990
Pinellas Park, Florida
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