03/29/2025
On the 24th of this month I wrote of encountering Jesus in front of a jewelry store. It was an unexpected encounter that taught me a great deal about myself and my faith. Today I would like to explore those sudden and unexpected appearances of Jesus in our lives a bit further. It is true that we don't know the date and time of the return of Jesus as predicted in Revelation, but much like Saul, we do occasionally receive chance encounters with Him today during our everyday lives.
“Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Acts 9:3-5 ESV
So, we might encounter Him boldly like Saul of Tarsus did on his way to Damascus. Perhaps we will meet Him like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus where they walked with Him in unawares, or quite possibly through a set of circumstances that reveals His presence to us, but most likely we will meet Him spiritually within us while we are exploring God’s Word and suddenly find Him there with us through the aid of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately however, Jesus tells us in scripture to be ready to meet Him face to face at the moment of rapture when He says:
“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
Luke 12:40 KJV
Yes, we can trust in the fact that He will come to claim His bride as predicted by the vision of John in Revelation, but He also surprises us off and on during our earthly lives as we learn more about Him, our spiritual selves, the Word, and our faith. Pastor Oswald Chambers wrote about this in my devotional reading this morning in this way...
"Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical connections. The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for the Lord's surprise visits. It is not service that matters, but intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This will give our life the attitude of child-wonder which He wants it to have." - Oswald Chambers
Do we expect to see Jesus today? Do we anticipate a visit from Him at any moment? Are we like children in the intensity of our faithfulness?
When my wife and I are expecting visitors, we rush around getting our house in order. I have two levels of preparation... I have a relaxed attitude about it if we are expecting family, and I have a more intense desire for the house to be perfect for all the others. Ann, on the other hand, has just one... the house needs to be in perfect order at all times and regardless of who is coming.
Jesus is like a family member that just drops in to see us. At least that is my perception, but with Ann's view of visitors, the house must be perfect regardless of who arrives, even family members. In truth she is right. Although we often approach our earthly visitors by rushing about straightening up a house that is normally less than perfect, we should actually want our homes and lives to be ready at any time for company… even for our Father and Jesus.
You might have heard the expression "Our home looks like someone lives here." That is an excuse for a house that is disheveled and in disarray, but it can be true of our lives as well. We have spiritual highs and lows and although we would like for Jesus to always find us on a high with our lives in perfect order... (Maybe just on Sunday, during worship service?) instead He makes surprise visits when we least expect Him. Jesus comes when our house looks like it has been "lived in", and He uses that clutter to teach us lessons, quite often embarrassing lessons, about our life of faith.
We are generally creatures of habit and order, and so we attempt to order our lives. We have cleaning days, yard days, vacation days, workdays... well you get the picture. We also have religious days which we treat like just another one of those days... perhaps we call it Sabbath, or Sunday. Religion is comprised of practices that we feel will bring us into compliance with God's expectations of us. Sometimes our view of religion makes it something that we mistakenly begin to worship and not a tool to be used during worship. When Jesus calls on us, will He find us worshipping Him... or the things we have surrounded Him with… our religion? Pastor Chambers wrote a thought regarding this subject too:
"If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious (that is, using religion as a higher kind of culture) and be spiritually real." - Oswald Chambers
Jesus wants to be comfortable when He drops in. If we are busy with the manners of our faith's culture and not relaxed in conversation with Him, then we have wasted our time with Him. My father passed away several years ago. If I were given ten minutes with him right now, I wouldn't spend it talking about things I have done since we last spoke or asking Him to take his shoes off at the door. I would embrace him and not let go except to look at his face while telling him how much I love him and have missed him. I would smell the sweet aroma of pipe tobacco that he always smelled of, and I’m certain it would be the shortest ten minutes of my life. The everyday things in my life would become insignificant... love would be all important, and this is how we should behave during our encounters with God and Jesus Christ.
““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””
Matthew 22:36-40 ESV
So, when we receive the surprise visits from Jesus, we should be prepared for His arrival and expecting to see Him without notice. We should have a child-like anticipation of His coming. Then, if He finds our house "lived in" we should listen to the lesson He will teach us regarding that and see ourselves through His eyes. But most of all, we should embrace Him and hold Him as I spoke of holding my earthly father. Jesus doesn't come to us in pomp and circumstance, He comes to us during the low points of our lives, he comes when we need to see that our house is a mess, or to tell us in our despair that we aren't alone and that in Him there is hope. In any of these cases, we shouldn't be surprised when he comes... we should be grateful for His presence and full of a child's unfettered love and emotion.
Are we ready for a visit from Jesus or our Heavenly Father?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son and the impact He has on my life. I thank you for the love He brings to me and the perfecting of all that I am. Jesus, in my darkest hours or most disappointing habits you come to me with instruction, revelation, and comfort. Your blood is my redemption, and your love my greatest possession. In your eyes I see myself as I truly am, and in your arms I feel the love that is the foundation of our relationship. I know that you will never abandon me to a life of discord, and that in my "lived in" house you will provide order. Thank you Jesus for your visits and the perfecting of my life through your example. I humble myself upon your arrival and bathe your feet in my tears... my love for you overshadows all that I am, and like a child I look for you in everything that surrounds me. You are the seed of the child that remains in fascination within me... waiting to hear your footsteps.
Holy Father, thank you for speaking to me in my secret places, and visiting with me throughout my life. Hear me as I busily go about straightening up my life with the help of Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Let my efforts bless you, and glorify you always, but never let them become the thing I worship, or take precedence over you… let my love for you and our loving relationship be foremost in my life. Speak to me Abba as I praise your name, and visit with me continuously through my prayers, and as you so desire.
Now I shout and sing Hallelujah, and say Amen in the name of Jesus your Son and my Savior. Let all those who hear me join with me in your presence by saying…
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Rich Forbes