04/09/2023
Have you seen Jesus? I am not talking about the spiritual feeling that comes over us when we first believe, but in a physical one-on-one encounter with the risen Lord. When this occurs it will change our lives forever; much different than the moment we first believed in faith. Oswald Chambers wrote of seeing Jesus sometime after being saved. He understood what even a glimpse of Him in this way can do to one's spiritual and physical life.
"Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many are partakers of God's grace who have never seen Jesus, you can do the same, other things do not appear as they used to do." - Oswald Chambers
How do we come to believe without seeing? We do so by faith. Paul spoke to the Hebrews concerning this by recounting to them the story of Moses leaving Egypt by overcoming his fear through an enhanced faith... one made possible by seeing Him who is invisible... God.
“By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Hebrews 11:27 ESV
And yes, we can see Jesus today, on His own terms and at the time of His choosing. When He reveals Himself to us in our lives the encounter will change us just as seeing God changed Moses. We will be changed in a manner that no one else can understand, but in a way that expands our faith mightily. We will find that our faith will grow just as Thomas' faith was increased when he placed his hand in the side of Jesus. In Hebrews Paul also spoke of His own personal encounter with Jesus when he wrote...
“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
Hebrews 2:9 ESV
I have been blessed to have had more than one such encounter with our Lord, but one in particular was when I felt the hands of angels touching me and knew that He was going to heal one of my loved ones of addiction. I can't describe that moment to you in its entirety; I couldn't describe it to the two men who were praying through me that evening. It even took me time to personally understand what had actually occurred, but the experience changed me as I watched Him healing, and I will never be the same again because of that encounter.
We will each meet Jesus face to face at some point, but even before we actually see Him, He is busy changing our lives, measure by measure. We come to him in faith when we first believe, and in that moment of salvation He starts preparing us for a much closer encounter with Him that will transport us to a place of far greater faith; one that might take us years to reach otherwise. Meeting with Him in this way might occur shortly following our initial redemption, or with our final breath, but it will occur for each of us, and when it does, our eyes will be opened, and there He will be.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
Jesus can appear to us in many ways, I spoke in a previous devotional writing of refusing a beggar in front of a jewelry store on a cold December day. That day changed me forever but it wasn't until He was gone that I realized I had just turned away Jesus; I had failed Him much as Peter had. On another occasion I was instantly propelled to the shore while drowning in a lake, and then there was the time I heard His voice say "The last time!" concerning my mother in law's final communion in church. Jesus will allow us to see Him, but it never seems to occur when we are expecting Him... but always when we need Him.
“After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.”
Mark 16:12-13 ESV
When our encounter does occur it is personal beyond our ability to convey. If He were going to reveal Himself to a crowd, He would simply do so, but when He decides to touch us personally it is just for the two of us. Sure, we might be able to describe in summary what transpired, but the real crux of the meeting remains hidden even within ourselves, and only manifests itself in our faith, and in our lives, for others to see.
I would like to close this morning with some additional words written by Oswald Chambers. He tells us of seeing Jesus and the effect it has on our lives...
"Always distinguish between what you see Jesus to be, and what He has done for you. If you only know what He has done for you, you have not a big enough God; but if you have had a vision of Jesus as He is, experiences can come and go, you will endure "as seeing Him Who is invisible."" - Oswald Chambers
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the encounters we have had with your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Father for the change those moments of seeing, touching, and hearing, have had on our lives and faith. We have believed in you and Jesus Christ, some of us since childhood, but when we come face to face with your Son, we find a mature and personal faith that we cannot describe outside the words of the Spirit. Lord, reveal your presence to other believers as they seek you. Let them know your Son Jesus personally in their lives and let it change them for all time. Open their eyes Father so that when Jesus walks with them, they will come to know Him in an amazing way. Let their hearts burn within them, just as ours have done. When He reveals scripture to them in a way that is without equal grow their faith dramatically. You are our God of immense and limitless proportion, and yet you deal with each of us personally… thank you Father... Praised be your name, now and through all eternity.
Rich Forbes