I recently read the following story:
A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner. In their rush through the airport, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table where a blind young girl was selling apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or even looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding call.
ALL BUT ONE !!!
One of the men paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a feeling of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled apples as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?” She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, “I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.”
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, “Mister….” He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, “Are you Jesus?”
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: “Are you Jesus?”
Do people mistake you for Jesus? That’s our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It’s actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
Doesn’t that question make you stop and think? “Do people mistake you for Jesus?”
Can you imagine how much better this entire world would be if we would just stop our selfishness, pride, arrogance, and quite frankly – stupidity of thinking more of ourselves than we do of others?
To be like Jesus, all I ask is to be like him,
All through life’s journey, from earth to glory,
All I ask is to be like him.
“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (John 13:15)
Follow Him closely today! Be an example of the believer to those you come in contact with – may they see Jesus in us!