Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Jesus Is everywhere

Jesus is everywhere
As Jesus is omnipresent, it shouldn't come as a surprise when he talks to us. He's infinitely creative, though -- which often takes us off guard. Consider this experience related by John Eldredge in his book "Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus" (p. 184):
Another friend, Leslie, was traveling in Germany and had the privilege of seeing the renowned Oberammergau Passion Play. 'All the villagers play parts in the story,' she explained. 'For nine years they are woodcarvers and then the tenth they take on a whole new part; the men grow beards and let their hair get long.' The play is three hours in the morning, followed by a long break, and then it continues in the afternoon. She wrote this account to me:

During my break I spent quite a bit of time in one particular shop. The woodcarver himself gave me a detailed explanation of his carvings. He had a head full of long brown hair and some woman asked him if he was in the play. 'Yes,' he replied. I thought, To whom am I speaking??? Peter, James, John, Judas...Jesus?! The moment I thought his name is was as if the Lord was saying to me, You recognize me on the stage in the part you know so well, but do you recognize me in the shop? Have you so compartmentalized your life between sacred and secular, church and business, Sunday and the rest of the week that when I am out there you no longer recognize me? I realized at that moment that I could walk into church on Sunday and know what to expect because I know the story. I could see Jesus in that setting. Then I would leave and go out into my own world and leave him in first-century Palestine. I couldn't recognize him in the shop.
Expect to encounter Jesus in your life. . .not just on Sunday, and not just at church.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Google