THEY MUST SEE JESUS IN US, IN ALL THAT WE SAY & DO
The question came as we sat at the rectangular table facing one another. As a group, we elected to study together a book, one that challenged us to ponder where our teaching is transformed by Jesus. Thus, when the question was voiced, I dug deep into my mind, searching for evidence. Where does your teaching reveal that your Christian teaching practices are not tacked on but are transformative?
Where, I questioned my heart, soul, and mind? Lord, help me know, and if not, Lord, help me know how this might begin in me.
Answers were given to the question as discussion continued, and I found myself listening. What can I say, Lord, that would reveal it so, illuminate it so, and even show it so?
The span of minutes can feel as eternity when one is searching his mind. As time ticked by, I found my mind returning to a Bible verse.
“By this the love of God was manifested in us,
(The 1st Letter of John 4:9 NASB)
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world
so that we might live through Him.”
“I believe,” were the words I spoke, and suddenly all eyes were on me, causing me to pause, to wonder: Do I really know exactly where my teaching practices reveal how they are transformative and not just tacked on, actions that I feel I must do (you know) because I teach at a Christian university.
“I believe that everything we do for our students must be centered around Jesus.” There I said the words aloud, wondering if that was enough. It was not (enough) because what evidence did I have that proved it so? This was a tough conversation.
Jesus Christ—
- Do we ever just stop to ask: God, why did you send Jesus?
Jesus Christ—
- He left the glory of Heaven and came to this world filled with sinners.
Jesus Christ—
- He died, willingly giving His life, for each one of us, “so that we might live through Him.”
Jesus Christ did this for us!
- Have we ever considered what “so we might live through Him” really looks like in the spaces of our careers?
- Have we dwelt in the weeds of our lives, searching for the good seeds we have been given to scatter in this world, “so that we might live through Him.”?
- Have we ever asked: “Lord, am I faithfully doing Your will in the places where You send me?
Consider how Jesus was there, in the beginning, with God, the visible image of the invisible God. Also true is that Jesus is the full, undiluted essence of God in the form of a man, One who came and dwelt among men. The only One EVER of the human race who was FIRST, in the beginning, with God.
The Bible says so!
“He was in the beginning with God.”
(The Gospel According to John 1:2 NASB)
Yes, may we consider why Jesus did all this for us.
- Jesus became sin so that all who believe on Him might not perish but be clothed in His righteousness.
- Jesus makes those who believe on Him, joint heirs with Him.
- Jesus transforms all that we do, all that we encompass, and all that we believe to be true.
If we are to show the world of people surrounding us in our day-to-day, then they must see Jesus in us, in our actions and in our words. They must hear us ask for forgiveness when we have caused them harm. They must see us love them as they are, but verbalizing how Jesus loves them too much to leave them as they are, and they must encounter the LORD’S mercy and grace that we have received as His redeemed ones IN ALL THAT WE SAY & DO.
The only evidence I could offer is that I believe on Him, and because I do, then my students must be afforded the opportunity to SEE JESUS IN ME. To better understand what this really looks like in action, let us turn to the Old Testament, seeing when three young men were challenged to “live out” their faith in a really tangible way.
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste;
(The Book of Daniel 3: 24-25 NASB)
he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?”
They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.”
He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm,
and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”
We know the biblical narrative. The king calls out to the three Hebrew boys walking around in the furnace, where they have been cast because of the way they “lived out” their faith. Then the king commanded the three to come out of the fire, and everyone present gathered around them to see this amazing miracle. They did not have any lasting effects of being IN THE FIRE. No singe of fire was seen nor any smell of burning flesh or clothes was detected. AMAZING, RIGHT?!
Tasha Layton, Rachael Lampa and The Choir Room sing the melody: “Thank You Isn’t Enough” revealing just how we are to “live out” all the days of our lives.
“Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.”
(The Book of Daniel 3: 28 & 4: 1-2 NASB)
. . .
“Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language
that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound!
It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.”
- If we are to show the world of people surrounding us in our day-to-day, then THEY MUST SEE JESUS IN US, in our actions and in our words.
- Others must encounter the LORD’S mercy and grace that we have received as His redeemed ones IN ALL THAT WE SAY & DO.