“One of my neighbors,” Stan began, “went to the airport yesterday to pick up someone he had not seen for a very long time.”
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“Apparently,” Stan replied, “my neighbor’s church was having a conference and this man was going to be one of the guest speakers.”
Continuing, he said, “My neighbor indicated that he and the speaker had known each other in another church when they lived in the same town many years ago, but it had been so long he was afraid that he wouldn’t recognize him and would be embarrassed.”
“So what happened?” I asked.
“Well,” Stan said, “it seems that they had exchanged cell numbers to make contact. Right when my neighbor was ready to head to the airport, he got a text with a picture of the man he was to pick up.”
“That was sure thoughtful of the man.” I replied. “A great way to avoid some embarrassment.”
“Yeah,” Stan said. “Seems they had no trouble connecting.”
Continuing, he said, “I was thinking about this earlier this morning when I was reading about how some of the people in John’s gospel failed to recognize Jesus because they were looking for someone else.”
“And,” he added, “how for too long I failed to recognize Jesus because I didn’t know what He looked like.”
“Maybe He should have sent you a text!” I said with a smile.
“He did,” Stan replied. “I just hadn’t looked at it closely enough to know how to recognize Him. Thankfully, He was looking for me and finally got my attention.”
Concluding, he said, “After Jesus got my attention, I began to read the text He had provided, look at the picture He had sent, and I opened up to the Holy Spirit’s leading so I am able to recognize Jesus in every situation.”
“Every situation?” I asked.
“If I choose to know what to look for!” Stan replied. “And if I choose to have my eyes open.”
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Now when John (the Baptist) in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples, and said to Him, “Are you the Coming One, or shall we look for someone else?” Matthew 11:2, 3.
And summoning two of his disciples, John (the Baptist) sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the One who is coming, or do we look for someone else?” Luke 7:19
The man (who had been blind) answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He (Jesus) is from, and yet He opened my eyes.” John 9:30.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for opening my eyes to see you. Thank you I could see you clearly enough to accept your free gift of salvation with the assurance of spending eternity with you when it is time. Thank you, too, for leaving me on this side of eternity so I can see you ever more clearly and pursue knowing you in an ever-deepening relationship. I confess that too often I do not recognize you because I’m looking in the wrong direction. Please forgive me. And please, Father, help me to follow as you lead me into the deepest possible relationship with you. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Have you recognized Jesus for who He is, Lord, Savior, and Redeemer? If not, why? If you have, do you continually recognize Him for who He wants to be in your life? Do you know how to do that? What would it take for you to be open to seeing Jesus in that way? Is that what you would like for your life? Why or why not? If you want it, what would it look like for you to continually recognize Jesus?
Waiting for the Train 