I SAW JESUS!!!
...Not the way one would expect to see Jesus. Not the way one might normally hear of a Jesus encounter, you know, a white man with a white robe and a bright and shiny glow radiating from all around Him. No, that's not what I saw at all. When I saw Jesus, it was just an ordinary experience...or maybe it was extraordinary!
Recently, I was at Subway, eating lunch with my three little babies. It was one of those trips where extra hands would have come in handy, no pun intended. Naturally, my three babies are incapable of carrying their own trays, filling their own drinks, or opening heavy doors- that is mommy's job... and there are a few other minor things we mommies have to do when on an outing with our sweet little munchkins, like monitoring little hands and keeping them from digging into the trash can, keeping pint-sized climbers from traipsing the tabletops... you get my point...This was precisely my experience during this eventful luncheon with my precious sweeties. Overall, our actual dining experience was relatively calm- only one spilled drink, and a few interceptions from a potential mishap with my wiggling, inquisitive, albeit rambunctious two-year-old atop the table, as predicted, and his sweet little princess sister that loves to eat! Lunch was a little exhausting for me, but we had a good time. Needless to say, my arms were more than full and my patience...let's say, I needed the patience of Job;)
Feeling drained as we left the restaurant, all I could think about was getting everyone into the car, buckled up safely, and a chance to catch my breath. But with my luck, getting to the car was also a challenging minor fiasco, when my little cutie dropped his special race car into the street as we were crossing, cars approaching, he let go of my hand and stooped down to pick up his prized toy, completely unaware of the impending danger... That moment of panic gripped me. You know, the fight or flight moment where time seems to freeze as your pulse rapidly increases during the split second you have to make the quick reflex decision that might alter your life forever. I had that, in the parking lot with my three babies. Yeah, terrifying...but now let me get to the point, because it was what happened after all that madness that Jesus met me.
It was in that exact moment that I noticed a homeless-looking man approach me in the busy parking lot to ask me if I had any money so he could eat.
Frustrated with the events with the babies, still in the street, and now I was being asked for money?!! (Just a little FYI about me, I love to give. I love to help people.) Normally, I am always a cheerful giver. I love homeless people, Africa, and, well, loving on broken people. I love giving when I have nothing to give. But for some reason, I really wrestled with God on this one. I really didn't have the money to give at that moment, and strangely, I didn't want to share. We actually only had $26 to our name because of some debts we were paying off and I was just not in the mood to give. (Ok, don't judge me that I went to Subway when we were so low on funds- that's another story). So, this particular day, I just wrestled with God. I told Him "I really don't want to do it, Lord" and "I want you to know that I am only doing this for you". I prayed three times and each time, I felt the Lord prompt me to give. So, with a little bit of irritation in my voice, I made the man wait while I buckled the babies into their car seats. He waited patiently.
As I dug into my wallet, I pulled out $6.00. I figured that would feed him at Subway, if he got a Sub of the Day. And again, I told God, "I really don't want to do this at all right now". So, grudgingly, I told the man what I usually tell people when they ask for money and I know they are in need, "I can only give you a little and it will only last for a short time, but if you trust Jesus, He will provide for you". So, I prayed with him, but not willingly and while the words were right, it felt wrong. My heart felt wrong. When we finished praying, he thanked me and I left.
Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks or let's just say, there was an explosion in my heart when I drove off and God started speaking to me. You know, in Matthew 25, Jesus says these words:
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
OUCH! That story stung! Jesus didn't want my money then. He has all money in the world. He certainly didn't need mine. He didn't need me to give Him money. No, He wanted MY HEART! My mind began spinning as I started pondering what it would be like to meet Jesus in His time of need. If that man had been Jesus, I mean actually Jesus, in the flesh, would I have given him $6 and said a prayer and sent Him on His way?NO! I would have given everything I had. I would have gone back into Subway and begged to sit at His feet while He ate, even after buckling the babies into the car! I would have offered Him a place to stay. I would have done everything in my power to be One I love as long as I possibly could. I would not have wanted to leave His presence for one second. Oh, How I long to be in His presence! What I didn't realize while standing before the homeless man, was that WAS His presence. That WAS HIM! Just like the He said: "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me." You see, when we love people the way Jesus loves, we see Him in them.
This experience completely changed my perspective on how I share Christ with strangers. It's easy to love on your family and friends, but Jesus calls us to do more- to love strangers, our enemies, and people that the world rejects. My heart broke and I sobbed so much that day. And I began praying and repenting. I don't want to be rejected by Jesus because I rejected Him when he was standing before me asking for food, clothes, a place to stay...I don't want to miss the exhilaration of being in His presence. And I hope I never pass off an opportunity to Love on Jesus the way He loves on me everyday! My prayer for you and me is that He presents Himself to us every single day... and every single day, we choose HIM, by loving the least of these- no matter who that might be in your life right now.
~Aimee
