Looking for Jesus

by Bryan Craig

DAY ONE

Most of you reading this devotional are “Christians”. You believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Who was sacrificed on the Cross for the sins of mankind and that He rose from the dead. You have given Him your heart and your will, and you have committed to follow Him. You may have been baptized in the name of Jesus, proclaiming and sealing your faith in Him.

However, sometimes it seems we have lost sight of Him. Where did He go?  Some churches have statues and images of Jesus in their buildings to help us see Him and to be reminded of Him. Still, that doesn’t always satisfy the longing we have to see Him face to face. Perhaps, this is something we will only realize when we get to Heaven. After all, 1 Corinthians 13:12 says:

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face.”

What is interesting to me is that even when Jesus was walking on the earth, many did not see Who He really was. Many did not recognize Him, even though He was standing right in front of them. If you read the accounts of His disciples, He often kept them in a state bewilderment. He did amazing things in their sight, and yet, they still doubted. He would pull away from them and disappear at times, and then, when He reappeared, they thought He was a ghost or a stranger.

So, if they had difficulty seeing Jesus when He was flesh and blood, how much more difficult is it for us who walk with His Spirit to see Him? I believe Jesus still wants to be known by us.  I have a friend who died a few years ago from a failing liver due to Hepatitis. When he was in the hospital, he had a vision (or a supernatural experience) where Jesus visited him and picked him up out of his hospital bed and ministered to him. He said he would never forget his face.  He even drew a sketch of it.

Let’s look at some instances this week at how Jesus related to those who came before us and see if it helps us understand how He is relating to us today.  I think God wants us to look for Jesus, for He changes everything.

“The God Who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him; though He is not far from each one of us.”  Acts 17:24-27 NIV