Just Between You, Me, & God 2/27/2012

Have you ever tried to be someone that you’re not? We used to do that a lot as kids, remember. We would call it pretend. Well if your memory is not that good then just sit down for a little while with some young kids and ask them if they want to play. Before you know it you’ll hear an excited voice say “Let’s pretend! I’ll be the Mommy and you can be my little child.” Now that takes a lot of imagination to be able to picture this old bald headed man with glasses as a little child but a child’s mind is not yet clouded with the negatives of this world. So a stick becomes a gun, a broom is a horse, and a beach towel clipped to the back of your shirt can make anyone a super hero. It all becomes a bit of an identity crises if you’re not careful. Jesus had a similar problem during His ministry here on Earth. His own hand- picked disciples didn’t always know who He was. You know the ones, they walked with Him, and ate with Him, and slept with Him, and one even walked on the water with Him for a few steps. And yet they weren’t always sure who He was. They had a good idea that He was the Messiah but not the one they had imagined. In their minds the Messiah would be a great warrior who would defeat their earthly enemies, but Jesus talked of love, and acted in kindness, and forgave with grace. Despite the number of miracles they witnessed and His sinless life lived right before their eyes, Philip still ask in John 14: 8, “… Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus wasn’t pretending, it wasn’t make-believe, it was just the pure truth. It should be easier for us because we have the advantage of hind sight, we know how the story ends. How about you, are you still asking for proof? Was the crucifixion and resurrection not enough for you or are you like the two disciples that Jesus joined after His resurrection as they walked toward Emmaus? They were so wrapped up in their own problems that they could not see the solution walking and talking with them until He revealed Himself to them. If you are still in doubt, if there is still a question about your faith, then start walking through the scriptures, stop and rest by the seashore as Jesus speaks, see the new believers as their eyes are opened to the truth, put your hand in His side and see the nail holes for yourself and believe the truth. Stop pretending. The Savior lived and lives, He gave and forgave, and He watches and waits for you to accept Him as the only way out of the game of life and into the reality of eternity with Him. God bless, Pastor Dean.

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF