To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

 

"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

 

When Nathanael asked Jesus, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."  By Jesus’ response to Nathanael later on in verse 50, it is evident that Jesus did not physically see Nathanael under the fig tree.  Instead, Jesus saw him through His divine insight.  Nathanael was observed.  And what was he doing there?  Most likely he was reading the scriptures and praying, since beneath a fig tree was a common place for the Jews to sit and seek God.

 

Every moment of your life, you are observed.  When you are alone, you are observed by God alone.  But when you are out in the world, you are observed by other people, whether you realize it or not.  And this could make you the first Bible some people read.

 

So, what are you doing about it?  When you’re on the freeway and some jerk cuts in front of you, what do you do?  When a pay phone turns into a slot machine, dumping money out onto the ground, what do you do?  When you’re in a hurry, and it seems everyone else in the store is moving in slow motion, blocking your way, what do you do?  When you’re lonely and need companionship, do you call one of your Christian friends, or do you go to a bar?  When someone at the office wants to tell you the latest gossip about one of your co-workers – especially if it’s someone you don’t like - what do you do?  In other words, does your witness stop on Monday morning and only show up when you’re inside the walls of your church?

 

Many years before I was saved, I wrote a poem that I ran across recently while cleaning out some files.  I want to share this poem with you.  Remember, these are the thoughts of an unsaved young woman (I was 20 years old) and her reflections of what she had observed Christians doing up until that time…

 

God’s Day

 

Today is God’s day, supposedly.

All the pretty little people put on their pretty little clothes and go to the pretty little church on the corner.

They hope that everyone notices their pretty little clothes and that they came to the pretty little church on the corner that Sunday, just as they have every Sunday for oh-so-many years.

They sit on soft, cushioned seats and whisper meaningful meaningless words out of absent-minded mouths.

They listen to every word the preacher says – for a moment.

Then they wave a nice little goodbye to all the other pretty little people and the nice little preacher and the pretty little church on the corner – and God – until next God’s day.

 

Quite an indictment, isn’t it?  I was searching then, and finding nothing of what I thought I should find in different churches.  So I ended up in a pseudo-Christian cult which, up front, appeared to be what I’d been searching for.  Five years after I wrote that poem, I met a woman who lived her faith, and although I did not respond at that time, she witnessed to me in every word and action, and then prayed for me daily for the next five years.  Ten years after writing that poem, I once again met someone who showed me Jesus – in his eyes, his walk, his attitude and his words – for the second time in the nearly thirty-one years I’d lived at that time.  Then, I was ready to meet Jesus.  The Holy Spirit had prepared my heart to see what I saw in that young man that day… and just a few days later, I was saved. 

 

Two people in thirty-one years.  No wonder I wrote that poem! 

 

Remember, everything you say and do is seen by someone, somewhere.  Take a look at your actions and reactions.  Do they reflect the kind of faith you profess on Sunday morning to your Sunday school class?  Do the things you do and say every day bring glory and honor to Jesus’ name?  Will you be the one person who shows Jesus to a lost soul on the day the Holy Spirit has prepared that person to believe?

 

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14 NIV