Seeing Jesus

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of our days, it has become increasingly difficult to find moments of solitude. Those important times of mediation and quiet reflection that we all need to focus on things eternal; times to spend time with God. It is unfortunate that the more pressed we are for time, it is those moments that tend to go first as we try to accommodate the things that demands our attention. Yet amidst all that is going on around us, is there anything else really more important to us than those moments of fellowship?

On the occasion of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, John tells us "much people", came from all parts to worship at the feast, not just because they heard that Jesus was coming to the city, but also to see Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead (John 12:9, 12). However amidst all the excitement, John records an event that we could easily gloss over. Some Greeks who came to worship at the feast met the disciple Philip and requested of him, "Sir, we would see Jesus" (12:21). Oh, we cannot begin to comprehend the depth of such a request! These Gentiles could have found any number of things to occupy their time. They could have been caught up in the excitement of simply being where Jesus was when he rode into the city, a story they could tell to their children, but that was not their focus. I firmly believe they did not just want to see his face, but rather to spend time in his company and be taught by him. Amidst the hustle and bustle, they "would see Jesus"; this was their priority, everything else could wait.

What is your greatest priority? Are you a part of the Christian crowd that is distracted by things in the moment? Being where Jesus is does not mean we are having fellowship with him. To have fellowship, we have to resist the lure of activities around us and carve out for ourselves those moments when "we would see Jesus". It is during those moments that we can enjoy the intimacy of our relationship with our Heavenly Father; when we can experience for ourselves the experience of the hymn writer, "And he walks with me and he talks with me / And he tells me that I am his own / And the joy we share as we tarry there / None other has ever known". No matter how busy life gets, I challenge you to make the time to see (spend time, fellowship, become intimate with) Jesus. I submit, nothing else is life is as important.