Where is Jesus?

I saw Him in the coffee shop this week.

It was a stunning sight.

I was working when all of a sudden I heard the young woman at the table next to me get up abruptly and say: "Here, this way, sir." 

I looked up and my heart was stirred by what I saw. 

In the middle of this affluent suburban neighborhood coffee shop, a blind man who was rather disheveled in his appearance had walked in. I thought perhaps he was homeless.

Yet where most of us would have likely moved away from him, this young woman went up close. She took him by the arm, guiding him to one of the few open seats in the very center of the crowded cafe.

It sent a current through the coffee shop.

I felt the presence of the Lord as strongly as if I were in a worship service. 

Jesus is here.

He is here. With the blind, and the broken. 

The young woman returned to her seat right next to me. I was in awe – as the rest of the shop was – by her loving kindness. I turned to her and said: "That was so incredibly kind of you." She told me she was now wondering about asking him for his coffee order. And so she got up, and did just that.

She didn't seem to notice how her actions had impacted the onlookers around her. It was clear she was just being who she is. 
 
These choices to love the unlovely are right before our eyes. 
 
As she returned and diligently went back to her work, I wanted to ask her: "Are you a Christian? What compelled you to show such unusual love?"
 
They will know us by our love. 
 
I remembered the Scriptures that tell us “by showing hospitality to strangers, some have entertained angels unaware” (Heb 13:2). And again when Jesus exhorts us: Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me (Matt 25:40).

Jesus is here. 

He is with the broken. He is among the destitute. He is with the one lost sheep. 

I was talking to someone this week who shared something I've heard often. It’s this subtle accusation of the enemy of our souls that perhaps Jesus won't come help me because I'm not good enough. Or, I'm not holy enough. Or, whatever the accusatory narrative might be. It is always a lie.

As I've begun to lead more in the “Christian ministry” world, I’ve had people say to me more and more often: "Connie, you're close to God so he hears you. I see him moving in your life but that's because you're doing xyz thing right."

I wish I could take you through my life before walking closely with Jesus. For many years, I lived “double-minded.”  I had – as the saying goes – one foot awkwardly planted in the church, and the other in the world. 
 
And yet it was when I was most lost that Jesus came closest. My rescue was rather hands on. He pursued me because I was lost. He came close because I didn't know how to hear him. He pursued me. 
 
Jesus is with the broken. He is among the lost. He came from heaven with this mission: to pursue those who are lost that they may be found. To pursue the blind that they may see. 
 
If you are far from God today, you can rest assured that he is near to you. He is in a grand pursuit of you. He wants to heal you. He wants to rescue you with his amazing love. 
 
His love is irresistible. When you encounter it, I promise you'll never let him go. You won't be able to settle for anything less. You will begin pursuing him because he pursued you. You will begin to draw near to him because he drew near to you.

And somehow it'll look like you're near to Jesus because you pursued him (and people will mistake that to be some kind of righteousness of your own making) but the truth is, you are near to Jesus because he pursued you. 

We love him because he first loved us. (1 Jn 4:19)
 
I am near to him because when I was lost he came and found me. When I was broken he came and healed me. When I didn't love him, he loved me still. When I am faithless, he remains faithful. (2 Tim 2:13)

I don't know another way to live apart from living near to him. Apart from basking in his great love. Apart from offering him my everything. Apart from giving him my whole life.

He gave up his life for me, for us, when we least deserved it. Not when we were at our best. 
 
But God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)
 
This is the God who calls you. 
 
I beg you if you sense him pursuing you, don't resist. Don't delay. What he has to offer is far better than you could ever imagine. 
 
The love of God will set you free. Free you from sin, yes, but also free you to live fully, abundantly into who you are – a divine treasure, known by the Creator of the whole universe before even the foundation of the earth, fashioned together in your mother’s womb for a purpose. 
 
You are a bearer of the image of the Almighty God. 
 
Be who he created you to be – a son and a daughter in his household. 
 
Be free. 
 
You are invited to give to Jesus your everything and watch him give you the Great Reward – more and more of himself. You’ll never thirst again. You’ll never wander again. You will be filled to overflowing. 

Where is Jesus?

He is here. Among us. 

Here, in pursuit of the lost, and the blind, and the broken.

Here he is. Be found in Him. 

Amen. 
 
If you want to know more about giving your life fully to Jesus, I would love to connect with you. Email me at connie@liveunveiled.com.
 
If you already know Jesus and want to go deeper in your walk with him, and live fully into your calling, consider joining our 6-week cohort program (summer session starts May 6).

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