For Ourselves

Then Jesus said, “but whom do YOU say that I am?”  Matthew 16:15

We have in our home a beautiful sculpture of Jesus healing the blind man which was a precious gift from the church on the occasion of Randy’s twentieth year of service.  It is not only perfect in detail, but also meaningful in so many ways.  When you look at it on a daily basis, you begin to see many things about Jesus that you might not think about otherwise.

Man sees things but sometimes doesn’t perceive. Webster says,to perceive  is understanding or realizing something for ourselves.  When we perceive, we must take what we’ve heard or thought and see it for ourselves rather than the way our parents, friends, or others see it.

First when we see Jesus for ourselves, we begin to see Him in a different way.  The sculpture shows the rugged hands that performed so many miracles used in a gentle, personal, caring way as He touches the eyes of the blind man.  You see that He cares for each one of us individually.

Secondly, when we see Jesus for ourselves, we see others in a different way.  The sculpture shows a hurting man humbling himself before Jesus as a child might before his/her parents.  He didn’t think he was worthy, but he asked Jesus for healing because he wanted to perceive Him for himself.  We begin to realize that each person is important to God, and we are none more or less important to Him.

Lastly, when we see Jesus for ourselves,  we see ourselves in a different way.  We begin to know that we are all sinners in need of a Savior, and we are no more entitled to God’s grace than any one else.  We see that grace is a gift offered to those who know Jesus.

The most important thing one can know in this life is who Jesus is to you personally because that is the how each person can find their way to the Father.  At that point, we can know that sins are forgiven, grace is granted, and we have found the Kingdom of God.  We all need to do it for ourselves.