Encountering Jesus
A number of years ago, there was a woman in Kansas City who walked into a
Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop. While she was waiting in line, she turned around to
find actor Paul Newman standing behind her. He was in town filming the movie Mr.
& Mrs. Bridge, and he didn’t realize it, but he was standing behind one of his
biggest fans.
Paul Newman smiled at her and said "hello." She took one look at those blue eyes
and her knees almost buckled. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.
Mortified, she turned back around, paid for her ice cream, then quickly walked
out of the store.
When she was outside, she sat down on a bench and took a moment to catch her
breath. As she calmed down, she realized she didn't have her ice cream cone. She
was getting ready to walk back in to get it when Paul Newman walked out. He
asked her, "Are you looking for your ice cream cone?" She was still speechless
but she nodded. He said, "You put it in your purse with your change."
There are some people who hold such great significance in our lives, that
meeting them affects us in a powerful way. But if a celebrity or an athlete can
have that kind of effect on people, just imagine how much difference it would
make in a person’s life to come face-to-face with Jesus Christ!
Think of the difference made in the lives of the Samaritan woman, the man
possessed by a multitude of demons, Zaccheus, James and John, the lame man by
the pool of Bethesda, the paralytic lowered by his four friends, Saul (later
known as Paul), the woman caught in adultery, the blind man, the leper, the
thief on the cross, and countless others.
There's a popular video making the rounds on Youtube entitled, "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus". There is much I
like about the video and some that I don't like. Religion is not the problem;
false religion (hypocrisy) is. Many people fail to realize that Jesus was a
religious person himself! But, it is true that religion (in and of itself)
cannot save us; Jesus can. Religion cannot change our hearts; Jesus can.
Religion cannot empower us to live holy lives; Jesus can.
Our goal as Christians should not be to get people to follow a religion. Our
goal should be to bring people to Jesus, to let them see him for themselves, and
to allow that encounter to change their lives. Perhaps the most powerful thing
we can say to people is what Philip said to Nathaniel (John 1:46) and what the
Samaritan woman said to the villagers (John 4:29): "Come and meet Jesus for
yourself."
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
alansmith.servant@gmail.com