A couple Sundays ago, after scurrying into church right as it started, I turned sideways and caught a glimpse of someone who was familiar to me. Stopping just for a second to go through my mental rolodex of who it could be, it hit me. A celebrity I had recently seen on television was worshipping with us. Whipping around to my husband, Jerry—who recognizes people even when they are hidden beneath a scarf, hat or sunglasses—to confirm whether I was right or wrong, to my delight, I found I had hit the nail on the head. For you see, even though I’m a people watcher, I rarely notice those the paparazzi chase after in mad haste. I’ve often said that George Clooney could be sitting across from me eating steak and potatoes, and I wouldn’t know it was him.
The wheels in my head started to turn.
Am I the same way with Jesus?
If Jesus walked into my everyday, would I recognize Him? Or the better question might be, would He recognize me?
This Scripture from Matthew 7:21-23 used to terrify me:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (ESV)
As if I were inspecting a shirt to see if I had spilled something on it, much in the same way, after reading that Scripture, I would examine myself, to see if I landed in the group Jesus didn’t know. Without fail, I would plead, “Please, Lord, know me. Please, make sure that You work in me, so that you know me. Don’t let me be deceived by my own heart.”
I truly do know that Jesus knows me. I met Him when I was in my teens, and by His grace, I see Him at work in my heart taking out what doesn’t please Him, replacing it with what does. Instead of the fear I felt before when reading those verses, the question now is, “How close do I let Him come?”
Seeming to be near in one instance and in the next, far away, what I have realized is it’s not because He has pulled back; it’s because I have. I get so distracted by whatever is around me, I find I am praying one second only to realize my mind has flitted into the inconsequential the next second. What should I wear? I need to exercise. Why did so-and-so look at me funny? The list is endless.
Have you ever found yourself there—wanting to be totally one with the Lord, but knowing you fall short all the time?
I have found comfort in these words from Micah 6:8:
“He has told you, humanity, what is good, and what Adonai is seeking from you: Only to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (LB)
To walk humbly has been deeply resonating within me. For it is at the very core of letting Jesus come close in all our circumstances. In our fragmented prayers, our hurt, even our sin.
In all these things, we need to humble ourselves and let Him be Lord. Too often, I find myself back at the helm trying to “fix” what is broken…
+If it’s unfocused prayer, I try harder to concentrate.
+If it’s hurt, I try to anesthetize it by ignoring or denying it with stoic thoughts of It’s no big deal. That doesn’t mean anything.
+If it’s sin, don’t get me started. All of us try to mask what we don’t want others to see.
Too many times, behaving as if we have never learned the Good News of the Gospel, we forget Truth.
“…Christ in your hearts is your only hope of glory.” –Colossians 1:27 (LB)
Apart from Him, we are helpless to change our hearts, our attitudes, or to free ourselves from sin. If we were able to do any of these things, then why did Jesus die? The apostle, Paul, says it best in Galatians 2:21.
“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.“
Walking humbly is not a put-down from God. It is however, the only way to let Him rescue, save, and love on us. To do anything else is to strong-arm Him, pushing His saving grace farther away.
In my heart this Christmas, every Christmas tree, every candle in the window, every wreath, every song is lighting the runway for the Lord’s return. May we all be known by Him.
Kimberly
