Point to Jesus

Whenever we read accounts of the disciples, we know that they were given a wonderful opportunity to show Jesus to someone. They got to listen to His word and to walk with Him daily. I am sure that they experienced an eternity changing encounter.

This is now our purpose in life. We, as royal priests, exist for this purpose. Our purpose is to point to Jesus in our daily lives. Is that an easy task? Do we have what it takes to do that task well? Someday we will be able to look back on our lives and sigh with a slight smile, “How did I do all that?” That is when we will hear Jesus whisper, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

Jesus equips us with everything it takes to do everything He asks. This is so that we can be as good as Jesus, in His loving grace, is equipping us to be.

How do we connect what we do in our lives to the bigger picture of serving God? Do you often feel as though you do the same things day in and day out? Do you feel as though you are able to celebrate Jesus even when life feels mundane?

It seems to me that when I look back at times in my life, I see that there are more mundane days in comparison to those kind of days that take my breath away. Milestone days are momentous and leave wonderful memories to be cherished, but it is the day-to-day life that needs to be well-lived, lived in the will of God.

I remember looking at my hand one day and thinking that there are more days walking in the valley of life than on the mountaintop. Put your hand in front of you and feel the soft valley that lies at the base of your thumb. That is where so many of our days occur. Sometimes in the valley of the shadow of death but mostly in the valley of the mundane. Yet I feel our hands hold the clue for how we need to deal with those kinds of days. Starting in that valley at the base of your thumb you can trace up the side of your index finger, the finger that is pointing upward, the finger that points to Jesus.

The commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” turns up just one time in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:18). It is almost buried in an eclectic list of instructions to not mix fabrics, not consume blood, and not round off the hair at your temples. Consider that the people of God will be set apart, living a different lifestyle than that of the people around them.

In that same chapter God tells Moses that the people must not harvest their entire crop. They should leave the edges unharvested so that those that are hungry, or poor, or far from home might find something to eat. The actions of God’s people reflect a deep concern for others, a need, a purpose to point to Jesus.

We are called and marked as God’s people by our actions toward others. And it is okay to claim self-love alongside love of neighbor as the way that we live in God’s kingdom in the here and now.

What do we have to offer Jesus today? Whatever it is, it is enough. You are always enough, just as you are.

One wonderful gift we were given was God’s daily grace. Receiving that grace is not always easy for us humans. Do you ever experience times like I do? When I am not feeling well, I hate feeling helpless as my loved one cares for me and waits on me. Or when I know I need help with a committee at church and let pride keep me from releasing control and letting others help me.

We like to think that we earn everything in this life, but we can never earn God’s grace or earn our way into Heaven. We can never “Make it up to God or pay Him back for our sins. We can only receive God’s forgiveness, life, and salvation as a wonderful gift from Him. God says to us as He said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That grace is bestowed on us as we come to Him in prayer time after time, and He gives us peace when we don’t understand His timing or His ways.

Although as we walk through the ordinary days that make up our lives, we might feel humiliation, suffering, or guilt which makes us want to run from or hide from God, we still have the amazing gift of God’s never-ending grace. He turns us around to repent and He hides us in Himself.

Apart from Jesus we could never build a truly stable life, but we can cling to Him, the one who is our rock and our salvation.

In all that we say and in all that we do, may our words and our actions point the way to our loving savior and Lord. May this be our purpose today and every day as we live out our lives in His Love.