Being Jesus

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 80
PM - Psalm 77 and 79
Gospel: John 7:14-36

For reflection: How does Jesus reveal Himself to you today?

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Many different images come to mind when I think of Jesus: perhaps the greatest of which is, of course, the one of His sacrificing His life for my sins. However, when it comes to day-to-day images of Jesus that really speak to me most of them revolve around His incredible compassion for others. Time and time again scripture points me to a Savior who simply cares about people. Stories such as the Prodigal Son, the Woman Caught in Adultery, the Woman at the Well, the Healing of the Ten Lepers, the Healing of the Blind Man, the Healing of the Centurion’s Son, the Widow’s Offering, the Death of Lazarus and His instruction to “let the little children come to me…” are just a few of the instances that we see Jesus showing us how to treat each other. With that in mind, I think that Jesus most often reveals Himself to me today when I see other people following His example of compassion.

Fortunately, I don’t have to look very far around our congregation to see Jesus in the hearts and deeds of so many of our flock. We have members who are actively caring for the chronically ill. During the winter months each week a different group cares for the homeless through the Room at the Inn program. One of our house churches has adopted an elderly lady who otherwise would have no one in Charlotte to provide much needed help and companionship. Another house church took it upon themselves to repair and paint a house for someone. Celebrate Recovery continues to work miracles every day for people who otherwise may have no hope of dealing with many of the challenges of life. We have a number of missionaries serving others in the U.S. and abroad, and we have countless members regularly making missionary trips to minister to people in Carillo Puerto, the Baja, City of Children, City of Angels, and Honduras. With each new birth, each death, each baptism, and each request for prayers, we see member after member laugh and cry and hug and care for each other over and over again – just like Jesus did.

When Jesus came to earth, He faced many challenges in establishing His church, but He never stopped loving people. We, too, have many challenges facing the Lord’s church and our congregation today, but I am confident that we will weather the storms we face because there are so many in our midst who just keep loving like Jesus did. Thank you to all of you who continue to reveal Jesus to me every day through the love and compassion you share with so many in need.  

- Steve Santa Ana