Making Sure It’s You

We don’t want to be fooled by an imitator that’s good at the job or by someone we think is who we need to talk with. I was followed out of a restaurant early in this century. Are you “Tom Arnold?” No. Not even close. I’m not even sure how they thought that! I remember meeting a sportscaster at a store in Houston that no longer exists. He knew who he was, even if I wasn’t sure. We nodded in passing. He knew. I knew. It was him!

As we age, we’ve seen a million faces, and after a while, they sort of run together into a general melding of features.

Maybe that’s why someone could see a potential Tom Arnold in me. I’m not sure. All I know, before I speak, I want to make sure it’s you.

Don’t get me started down the path of trying to determine if it’s you behind that C-19 mask!

My computer logs in with an eye on my facial features. I’ve disguised my looks, and it still knows it’s me. Glancing to the side can fool it for a moment, but I cannot keep my head turned away that long. Eventually, it gives up and asks for my pin code.

You can fool some of the people all the time,
but you should not be able to fool all people all the time!

This Morning

As I logged in, I got to thinking about how I can fool some into thinking all is well, but those astute individuals know a different “me.” When I want to put on a “good face” and hide my inner needs, they read between the lines and see the “real me.” A friend over there knows me. That relative understands me. I’m not sure anyone “gets” me all the time.

I’ve become keen on how to mask my struggles and present a false image.

My kids used to say I never smiled for the camera. They saw the fake smile you painted just to make a picture look good. They knew the behind-the-scenes moments when a real smile showed up – often when they had some good news to share!

When you carry the world’s weight on your shoulders, no amount of fake smiling will hide the day’s strangeness.

This heavy lifting brings stress to the plate and weight around the stomach. Too many cups of coffee and not enough water. Search for distraction, and we hope to throw the struggles down the road and “take a day off.” Hair turns gray more quickly. You lean into your hearing problem so as not to learn something new. Open a book, but in a novel, and hide your distraction to the moment!

I’m getting tired of this. It’s about time to change who I am and become who I want to be.

Imagine Jesus

As God robed in the flesh, Jesus was here for a purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he allowed the weight of the moment to flow through, as it were, as great drops of blood. Though his disciples were asleep, one must have been awake enough to experience the moment.

Every moment brought the reality of the day to his plate. Could he ever just sit back around the fire and swap stories and laugh at the misadventures of his compadres? What about dinner time? Was it always tough to define who the “real Jesus” was?

Was Jesus fully human and fully God? How can he connect who he is to those who believe in him?

When hanging on the cross, Jesus became a real person in a unique way. He is not thinking of himself or the suffering he’s prolonged, but seeing his mother and the favorite disciple, he steps out of his role and becomes human.

When Jesus therefore saw His mother,
and the disciple whom He loved standing by,
He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”
Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”
And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
(John 19:26-27 NKJV)

He means no disrespect when he calls out to her, “Woman!” This is the same term he used at his first miracle. (John 2:4) Perpahs the moment would have been too difficult if he used the title he had used when a child. “Mother…Mom…” Maybe she would have reacted, and the moment became more difficult for her to bear. Her son. Is this really you?

To the disciple (most probably John), Jesus says, “Behold your mother.” Though possible and probable that his own mom was there, John takes ownership and becomes the son who would care for her as if she were his own mother.

The Real Jesus, The Real Me

Jesus had a role to fulfill, but imagine he’s God. Suddenly, he’s masked by flesh, birth, and position. He can experience what he could not have done previously. He can be the image the prophet writes about in Isaiah 53. But his role is singular. Seek and save the Lost. (Luke 19:10) His life is lived on many levels. Reach the lost, but be the man he was called to be.

His humanity speaks from the horror of the moment.

Behold your son. Look at me. You know so much more about who I am than anyone else here. Is that who you thought I’d become? Yes! You pondered life’s events. But, Mary, did you know?

Behold your mother. You followed me to become a fisher of men. Mankind. Here’s someone who will need you in the days and years. Take ownership. Show me you love me.

Being human, Jesus challenges us to be more than human.

Song: To be like Jesus. To be like Jesus. On earth, I long, to be like Him. All through life’s journey, from earth to glory, I only ask to be like him. I’ve been on the mountain with Jesus. I’ve been to the valley below. But not one time has he failed me. when to him with my burdens I go.