Yesterday I conducted the funeral of a true saint of God. She wasn’t world famous, she hadn’t traveled the world or gone into the slums of some 3rd world city. Rather, she was a consistent prayer warrior for God. Every time that I would go and visit her in her home thinking I would be the one ministering to her, the exact opposite happened. She ministered to me. I was blessed just sitting for a few minutes in her presence. Her health was declining, she had lost her husband (of many years) the year before and yet in the midst of her pains she kept testifying of God’s faithfulness. Her life represented Christ in every way. She was covered with the image of Jesus. She had “a little Jesus on her”.
It reminded me of just how important it is to bear this image of Christ in our attitudes, in our living and in our thoughts and words. Are we honorable people? How do others view us? Are we above reproach in our words, thoughts and actions? How vital it is to live exactly what we claim to believe. My prayer is that each of us would seek to be covered in Jesus. Not just on our faces on Sunday morning but every moment of every day. Is it possible to bear His image everywhere? YES!! But you see in order to bear His image we have to boldly and honestly say to Him, “I surrender all of me to You!” This is a very scary prospect for most people. Many fear a loss of their identity, or the loss of fun, or independence, yet when we say those words to Jesus we will have gained so much more than just one solitary temporal life.
There is a great picture to see here if we take the time to step back from the canvas. I was in a museum a number of years ago and happened upon a painting by the famous modern painter Chuck Close. His method of painting would be frustrating to most painters, because he paints his portraits one color at a time in a pixelated like scheme. When you stand up close (no pun intended) to one of his paintings all you see is a distorted colorful blob on the canvas, but if you step back from it the distorted image becomes so much more clearer and the true portrait is reveal. It is an amazing method that astounds most people when they first see it:
When we step back from the canvas, that is our life, what do we see? Do we see a life lived just for “self” or is there something more to it? Are we so diluted by a self-indulgent lifestyle that we can’t even fathom containing a little Jesus on us? It would be the easier route, but when we finally stepped back from the canvas we would see how little we have truly impacted this world for anything other than ourselves. I am guilty of this.
Sitting in the small living room with a Saint taught me more than I could have ever thought possible. How much of Jesus do you have on you today? Can others see Him through you? Have you said to Him lately, “Lord I surrender all of myself to You again. Use me Lord!” It might be a scary prospect, but if we do this daily, even moment by moment those little blobs (our surrender) of color will make up the image of Christ in and through us!
I would much rather get to the end of my canvas here on earth and step back and see Christ rather than a mess of colors that really never had a purpose. Let the world see Christ through you! Let them exclaim “Ah ha! You have a little bit of Jesus on you!” and because of it they are changed!
-Just a thought for today!
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Pastor's Ponderings 