I Saw Jesus

Christ always had a plan for us. When he taught, he didn't bring a philosophy. He brought truth. The truth of Jesus Christ is that he came down from heaven and became a man. As a man he was abused and murdered on the Cross. He then rose and beat death forever. Why? So that we could have life.

So what does that life look like? We are called to be the body of Christ. To bring the Spirit with us wherever we go. We are called to be Jesus to the world. I experienced that today. I was in a rough patch, times were alright. But nothing special, not chasing demons, but not sprinting towards Christ either. Just altogether a valley of sorts. I guess thats how the low times happen, we don't even realize completely how far from God we think we've gone, but we just can find the nerve to turn and run back to him, it just feels weird.

But today was different. I saw Jesus. Ok, I didn't see the scarred hands or the punctured side, but one of my friends did show me the love of Christ in his/her actions. We'll call them Taylor. Taylor came to me today and showed me in a tangible way how God loves us even when we aren't on fire for him. Taylor, like Jesus, invited me to restore a relationship that had been in regression. When I was with Taylor today I didn't see any forced attempt to be a "Super-Christian". There was no attempt to coax me in the right direction. I saw Jesus today. Taylor was living out the call that God gives all of us. We are told to love our brothers and sisters. Even when I hadn't reached out to Taylor as I knew I should have, Taylor reached out to me. God's love is relentless.

And that really is where it all starts. Choosing day by day to answer to the mandate that God has placed upon all of us. I saw Jesus today. Not through miracles or supernatural phenomena, but through a Christan answer the call of Christ and living as Jesus did. Taylor probably didn't even realize just exactly the message that they conveyed to me today, but that is ok. Christ never promised that we'd have all the answers, that we would know just exactly what we did for the kingdom. But, I do know this: through Taylor, a Christian living their life for God, Jesus spoke to me a message of grace. I mess up, I'm forgiven. I desperately needed to hear that message. Thank you *Taylor*. Even if you never know, you've changed my trajectory, righted my direction straight back onto Christ.

So through what God has shown me today I leave this challenge. Be Jesus. Don't try and be perfect or act out the holier-than-thou life. Simply walk in the ways of the Greatest Teacher. Love people. Give grace. Let the Spirit work. Someone was my Jesus today, now its my turn to be Jesus to others. A life for Christ is the only life worth living. Godbless

-matt