1 John 2:28-29
And now, my little children, stay in
happy fellowship with the Lord so that when he comes you will be sure
that all is well and will not have to be ashamed and shrink back from
meeting him. Since we know that God is always good and does only right,
we may rightly assume that all those who do right are his children.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Generally, there is not a
bashful bone in the little bodies of Timothy, Zola, and Nathan. We have
marveled at how they are so cordial and polite to our adult friends…and
we have been a bit unnerved by how friendly Zola, particularly, can be
toward complete strangers in public! But there are times when, for
whatever reason, these little ones will shrink back and hide behind our
legs when someone else approaches. Of course, once they “warm up,”
everything is fine. But there are occasions when they will briefly
cower as if they are embarrassed – or frightened. Of course, the
children don’t do this with us. They know us…they are familiar
and comfortable with us. But there ARE family members whom they rarely
see – and these folks sometimes get the cold shoulder/bashful treatment -
at least initially.
Were Jesus to suddenly appear among a group
of us, I can totally envision many at least having the urge to cower and
shrink back. After all, it’s Jesus…and we know we are not
worthy. We know we have disappointed Him – and sullied His name with our
disobedience and sinful ways. And because some of us don’t really KNOW
Jesus as we should, there would be that period when we would hide
behind the legs of someone more familiar, like a child does on occasion.
But
that’s the whole point of this passage. There is no reason for us to
cower behind anything or anyone in Jesus’ presence. If we will simply
get to know Him as we should and develop an intimate relationship with
Him, we will understand why this is unnecessary. We will learn that
Jesus already knows every mistake we have made – or will make. And He
loves us anyway. And quite honestly, the closer we stay to Jesus, the
fewer missteps we will make, because we will be more in tune with His
instruction and guidance.
Jesus wants us to be so comfortable and
familiar with Him that there is no need to hide – anything. Jesus
wants us to demonstrate to others how joyful this relationship can
be…how secure and peaceful life is when we make Him our constant
companion…our “Forever Friend” in every sense of the word. Jesus wants
us to understand that nothing is too big for Him to overcome…and to
convey this realization to others. Jesus wants us to boldly step up and
out - and greet Him each and every minute of the day. And He wants us
to show others that there is nothing to fear.
I want Jesus to be
so present in my life that whenever others look at me, they can almost
visualize His image standing next to me, holding my hand. I want others
to see that Jesus is my constant companion…that He never leaves me…that
wherever I go, He goes, also. And in order to do this, I have to
develop a deep, abiding, continual relationship with Him that
encompasses each and every minute of the day. I’m working hard to do
exactly this…what about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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