Snow-Bound Reflections on the Journey with Jesus
I live in central Iowa. Iowa is having its snowiest February in over 130 years.
Which means (besides shoveling and sliding around) you don’t always get to do what you’ve planned to do, if doing it means getting somewhere.
It also means you have extra time at home.
On this past weekend, my Experience God’s Presence devotional, Day 42, prompted this: Jesus said to those interested in Him, “Come and see.” He knew that people would not fully understand Him nor what life is truly about without actually following Him. there is discovering in the following.
So my reflection: What have I learned about Jesus, and from Jesus, in over 5 decades of His “come and see” in my life?
How might you answer such a question out of the time (however long) that you’ve followed Jesus? What specific things has following Jesus taught you? How has it changed who you are?
If you’re interested, here’s what my snow-bound reflections yielded.
#1 Jesus Christ is incomparably worthy of following. No one, absolutely no one, like Him.
#2 It takes time and intentionality to follow Him well. No shortcuts.
#3 I follow Him much better when in the company of others doing the same.
#4 Personally foolish, flesh-driven choices quickly diminish the gains of following Jesus. Getting derailed is remarkably easy. The battle is daily.
#5 The Spirit of God — daily, actively depending on Him — is indispensable.
#6 Jesus will always put my eyes, and orient my thinking, to eternity, to the age to come, to the true life that is coming.
#7 Jesus’ teaching was, and is, incredibly insightful, unashamedly counter-cultural, and counter-“religio”.
#8 Time with Him, and with His Father, by His Spirit, is ALWAYS time well invested.
#9 Leaders like Jesus initiate for others, and with others, in what the Father wants to get done in this world.
#10 At center, Jesus loved to catch people for the Kingdom. It was the only future that mattered. “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). If you are following, you’re fishing with Him. If you’re not fishing with Him, you’re likely not following.
My suggestion – if you can’t get to where you want to go when you want to get there, and you have some extra time, spend it with Him. Assess your “come and see” gains…and be eager for more.