Seeing Jesus

Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' Matthew 25:44

They see my father when they see me.

So, I spoke in the final general meeting for the election of my cousin running for the position of village captain. Since most village folks remember my late father, they were given a resurrection site as I stood in their midst. They were seeing a replica of the man they knew before. They were looking at a photocopy of the man they grew up with and live with in their little village.

The face, the mannerisms, the way of talking, and the way I carry myself,  they say I got it all from my father. When I speak, they tell me they see my father speaking. When I walk, they say they see my old man walking. When there's a discussion, they listen to me as if they are listening to my father.

Jesus calls us to see him in others. Would people look like Jesus? No, of course. But we are called to see Jesus in them. Our eyes may not show that, our hearts will.

See Jesus in the hungry and thirsty. Not only the people who have nothing to eat or drink, but people hungry for understanding. People who are thirsty with acceptance and love. Person at your office who is scarce with compliment to get through the hard week. Person sitting beside you at the family dinner table hungry for encouragement to lift his spirits.

See Jesus in the stranger and naked. Not only to the people whom you don't know but to the people who are in strangely difficult territories in their lives. People who gets wrecked and naked publicly. Person who is not close to you well enough for you to reach out for her. Person who is opening up his whole life to you like showing to you all he got.

See Jesus in the ill and in prison. There are lot of people who are sick in body. There are a lot of people who are in prison. But more are sick in spirit and imprisoned by bars of life. Our call is to see Jesus in them, look at them as if we are extending God's healing to their weakened soul. To see Jesus in them as we help them out to escape from their emotional and spiritual Alcatraz.

There's a great shift when we see Jesus. We become kind. We become patient. We become understanding. We bring out the best not only in people but in us. Great things happen when we see him.

It's not easy but hard to see Jesus in others. It takes Jesus in us to see Jesus in others. You have to know him. You have to grow in him. You have to live with him. Walk where he walked.

See Jesus when you see people. People will see Jesus when they see you.