Two little boys, brothers born just a couple of years apart, are arguing at the breakfast table over the last piece of cinnamon toast. Mom intervenes by suggesting that if Jesus were there, He would gladly give the last piece to His brother. The younger brother looks at the older and says, “OK, you be Jesus.”
As discomforting as it might be, the reality is that we might truly be the only Jesus some people will ever see. The Lord Jesus established His Church to continue His ministry mission. In His great priestly prayer in John 17:18, He said, “As you have sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” Jesus’ ministry mission was to show persons their undeniable worth to God the Father. The ultimate demonstration of that worth was the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 20:21, “… the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
During His three-year earthly ministry, Jesus showed us how to care for others. That Christlike caring will be the key that unlocks hearts and minds for a witness to the love and life transforming powers of Jesus. The New Testament is full of examples. The Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), Zacchaeus (Luke 19), and the woman caught in adultery (John8) are three prime examples of Jesus showing mercy and grace to outcasts, notorious sinners, and even the self-righteous.
There are so many around us that need to see Jesus. These are people who need restoration, a second or third chance, love, patience, and hope. Yes, they do need conviction, but not condemnation. They need friendship, caring, and challenge. Where do you find them? Hospitals, nursing homes, homeless shelters, schools, jails, apartment complexes, and your neighborhood.
B.B. McKinney wrote a great old hymn called “Let Others See Jesus in You.” Here is the first verse and chorus: “While passing through this world of sin, and others your life shall view, be clean and pure without, within, let others see Jesus in you.
Let others see Jesus in you. Let others see Jesus in you; keep telling the story, be faithful and true, let others see Jesus in you.” Will you be Jesus to someone in need?
