Pause With Jesus

Think of reading the biblical stories of Jesus as a written travelogue. Each verse, story, chapter, account stands alone as an example of the exquisite life of Christ—as each snapshot from a vacation individually reflects a unique experience of life. Unless surveyed as a whole, the completeness escapes and leaves us grasping mere fragments. The totality of a vacation, missed when viewing individual photos, can be seen by observing the album containing all the pictures, or a video showing the story in motion. Places and people. Good days and bad. Events comprising the entire trip come into focus, accurately portraying a journey that would appear out of balance when only certain pictures were noticed. This biblical travelogue presents description, like snapshots of a historical person. Knitted together, stories from Christ’s life bring into focus a true and astounding picture. More than a portrait of a movement, it is representation of the Man Himself. A Man who loved all the characters of the drama. The lonely? He loved them. The misfits? He loved them. The legalistic, religious, gotta-do-it-our-way-or-we-will-kill-you folks?  He loved them. Demonstrations of that love differ with each scene, but uniqueness merges with unity; the same pure, profound love shines in every sighting. What I’ve offered here is an awareness, a glimpse, of what the Gospel writers were telling us. And what life seems to be revealing. These stories have caused me to see Jesus in fresh ways. I am more aware than ever of both my imperfections and His love for me in spite of my frailty. Watching Him with sinners in Matthew’s house, seeing Him gaze at the impish Zaccheus while certainly grinning, hearing His powerful words stifle the storm: such scenes moved me despite my familiarity with them. Moments of study offered me the impossible task of laying aside my preconceptions long enough to live through the events unfettered by prematurely drawn conclusions. Along the way, I met Jesus. Again. And He is very real, very alive. And He seems to think we are all important. May we refuse to think lightly of Jesus. May we refrain from closeness to Him that merely leaves us callous to His majesty. May we refuse to be ordinary.  May we not work so hard to rise above others. May we pause. May we pause with Jesus.