Faithful
He Came
Was there ever a time when you were a child someone promised to take you to the park or take you to get ice cream but the person never showed up? Or as a teenager do you recall a time in school where you found out you were in the “in crowd” that was out? Life is filled with disappointments and disappointing people and truth be told, I sometimes am one of them. Whether invited or not Jesus has been the constant in my equation, the one person that never disappoints.
It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To
I remember a time when I was about 15 years old I decided to have a few church friends over for dinner after church on the following Sunday. They all responded affirmatively and seemed eager to come. I remember the next Sunday during church service I could hardly pay attention because I was anxious to go home and get things ready for my guests. After benediction I hurried home and started to warm up the food. We made barbecue ribs, cornbread and all the sides to go with it. It was about time for people to come.
With anticipation, I peered out the window looking for my first guest. No one. A few minutes later I opened the front door wide as if looking out a larger opening would call them like a dinner bell (we didn’t have cellphones back then). Nope, no one yet. Then it was past time for people to come. I checked the food, paced and looked out again. It was way past time for people to come. They didn’t come. I found out later from one of them that they were looking for me to remind them. Well, I guess that was a hard lesson in invitation etiquette. Oh well, we ate good that Sunday afternoon, had plenty.
He Came
We all had those times in our lives where we were stood up in some fashion. By a friend, a date, or even a parent. There were times when we were looking for that person with whom we had an emotional connection to show up but they did not. They didn’t show up physically or emotionally. Disappointment showed up instead. I want to tell you about Jesus, who has this habit of showing up uninvited pushing us to the edge of greatness..
He first came as a voice on an evening stroll with Adam as He pointed out the beauty in the Garden,
He came as a voice of fire through a burning bush challenging Moses’ limitation,
He came as a voice rebuking Paul’s religion with a blinding light.
He came as a theophany of impending judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah yet honoring Abraham’s desperate intercession for its inhabitants,
He came as an angelic being wrestling Jacob into transformation as Jacob wrestled his own fractured world.
As the Word, He came, wrapped in a sacrificial robe of flesh that he would eventually trade for the sins of the world.
Jesus came then and He is still showing up.
Jesus is Still Showing Up
He comes when we are not at our best but at our worst. He comes unsummoned and unloved. He comes even when we disrespect and ignore him. He comes when we are weak and used up. He comes when we are no good for anyone not even ourselves. He comes because he sees beyond the layers of our wounds and defenses; he sees something beautiful in us. He looks past the pride, everything we thought we were but are not. He comes anyway because he sees what we can become in Him.
When we finally notice him peeking through the window of our souls with a smile as if we were someone special, our defenses, hurt and anxieties melt away. His presence envelopes us, accepting the raw material that we are.
The love we then experience is pure. It is nothing we’ve ever experienced in this life. His love flows beyond our character flaws, our shortcomings, our failures. He becomes the life of and in our party and at times he is the only one there. But I’ve come to know that Him and I together make the majority and that makes all the difference in the world.
Have I extended any more dinner invitations since that disappointing day at age 15? Well, I have since learned that the main guest was already there waiting for me to notice Him. So, yes, I have extended invitations, and they come in droves!