John 20:11-16
Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus' body had been. One was at the head and the other was at the foot. The angels asked Mary, "Why are you crying?" She answered, "They have taken away my Lord's body! I don't know where they have put him."
As soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know who he was. Jesus asked her, "Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener and said, "Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him." Then Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him, "Rabboni." The Aramaic word "Rabboni" means "Teacher."
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Recently, my grandmother’s friend told me about losing her car keys one morning. She looked for them frantically for over an hour. Finally, she called her son to come and get her, saying, “I simply cannot find my car keys.” She was wearing a “field jacket” – a type of hooded coat with lots of pockets and zippers, - and someone nearby asked, “Did you check your pockets?” She had looked in some of the pockets, but not two zippered compartments that were located about waist level. When she reached into one of these… there were her car keys. She said, “I’ve had this coat for over twenty years, and I never knew there were pockets there!”
I’m afraid a lot of us have had some sort of relationship with Jesus for a long time – if not more than twenty years – and we still don’t readily recognize Him. We don’t see the angels He sends to minister to us in all sorts of situations. We don’t hear His voice or feel His presence. If Jesus walked right up to us today and spoke, many of us would not readily recognize Him. It’s as if we have worn the “coat of Christianity” for many years and never known where all of the “pockets” were located. And unless we find all of the “pockets”, we will miss out on some of the richest experiences with Jesus Christ.
To a person, we would probably all agree that we want a vibrant, full relationship with Jesus. But we would probably all have to also admit that we don’t do enough to get to know Him… to keep Him at the forefront of our lives… and to fully recognize His presence or the work of angels on His behalf in each and every moment of our existence.
As we look toward the close of this year, I can’t think of a better time to resolve to become more familiar with Jesus. Let’s make every effort to put Him first… to communicate with Him continually… to know His voice and recognize His handiwork. Let this be the year when you don’t have to look for Jesus any longer, because you always see Him standing next to you. It’s time to find all of the “pockets” in our coat of faith… have you found yours?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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