Have you
ever given much thought to that? So often, the people who meet Jesus are
surprised by His Words and actions.
A Samaritan
woman (John 4) was surprised that Jesus spoke to her. She was even more surprised that the One offering
her living water was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
The
fisherman, Peter (Luke 5), was surprised that Jesus would have any interest in
him, a sinful man. Jesus made Peter an
offer the fisherman couldn’t refuse – to catch men.
The tax
collector, Zacchaeus (Luke19), was surprised that Jesus wanted to have a meal
with him. By the end of the meal, Zacchaeus
surprised himself by returning money to those he had cheated.
These are
only a few of the people whom Jesus surprised.
But they are not the only ones.
Ask yourself, “How has Jesus surprised me?”
When He
spoke His Word of forgiveness to you at a time when you could not forgive
yourself?
When He
offered His peace to you in a moment when your life was in turmoil?
When He
proclaimed His love to you when you felt lonely and unlovable?
As we Run
the Race of Faith we can almost assuredly expect Jesus to surprise us in some
way.
So often, Jesus
surprises us when He does what we deem impossible – comfort our hurting heart
or provide peace in the midst of our pain or come to our rescue during
depression and discouragement.
Keep on
drawing near to Jesus. Have an open ear
and heart for His Word. Come to His
table and hear Him say, “This is my body, this is my blood for the forgiveness
of your sins. See how much I love you!” In the pages of Scripture, the waters of Baptism, the bread and wine in Communion - in these Jesus comes to you.
As you draw
near to Jesus, don’t be surprised when He surprises you – answering a prayer
when you least expected it, offering a clear path when you couldn’t see it, or speaking
a Word of love to you when you really needed it.
What does
today look like for you? Same old routine? A day just like any other day?
Be watchful
– just like the Samaritan woman or Peter or Zacchaeus, you might find that
Jesus has a surprise for you!
