The Stranger: when it is hard to see Jesus

When Jesus came to earth his people had for the most part completely missed him. The reality for our day is Jesus is still around, but I have to wonder when was the last time I saw Him? How do I recognize the presence of Jesus in my life when his Spirit is with and within me?

I see Jesus when I give and get love. God is in flesh each time I know love enough to receive or give it.

God is seen in the moments my mind takes hold of knowledge or wisdom in ways I had not previously understood. This is God's word being spoken to my heart, spirit, and soul.

Every time I am angered by injustice or oppression the flare of God's anger is experienced in my own heart. He is to be recognized there.

Every time my broken heart was soothed, healed, or restored it was the touch of Jesus in me. 

Every time I was inspired by a book, a poem, a piece of art, a speech or a movie was an experience of the Spirit in me. Inspiration is, what Anthony de Mello says, "the Master calling to discipleship". 

Even in the silences I have learned to see Jesus.

When I look back on the last week or month, these moments are all bursting with grace. They are reverberating the heartbeat of God within me. 

So I ask that He will come again today. I want to recognize, experience, and encounter him now and not always in retrospect.