Are You Jesus?

Are you Jesus?.....

I received the following email the other day.....

 "Apples... This is as good as it gets!!!

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago .. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush to catch the plane home and with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.

 ALL BUT ONE!!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

 He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.

 He was glad he did. The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her; no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $50 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

 He stopped in mid-stride .... and he wondered. He gently went back and said, "No, I am nothing like Jesus - He is good, kind, caring, loving, and would never have bumped into your display in the first place.

 "The girl gently nodded: "I only asked because I prayed for Jesus to help me gather the apples. He sent you to help me, Thank you for hearing Jesus, Mister."

 Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"

 Do people mistake you for Jesus?  That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.

 If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.

 You are the apple of His eye even though you, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked up you and me on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
 
Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know.

The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts,
the safest place to be is in someone's prayers,

 and the very best place to be is in the hands of God!!!"


I had received it many times over the years, but it still brings me up short....would anyone ever ask me if I was Jesus by what I do....do I bring life, sunshine, help, to another's life? How do I remedy that if I don't?...

It reminded  me of the ten lepers whom Jesus met along the road...crying out to be healed...they couldn't get close to anyone because of their disease, but they cried to loud voices...Jesus heard them and told,them to go to the priests and present themselves to him...they were healed on the way...otherwise they couldn't go to the temple...but, only one came back to thank Him...gratitude.....He knew who healed him...the salesman was an answer to this girls prayers...he stayed and helped, answered her question...took time when he could have hurried on as well into the busy world...

Divine appointments......for all ....how many do we have and pass by...busy...or do we stop, an answer to someone's prayers...am I reflecting Jesus to anyone???  Am I thankful for the healing done? Time taken? Care given? Laughter and life shared?

Thank YOU,  open my eyes to your world....and let me be an instrument of Your grace...

Luke 17:12-19
New International Version (NIV)
12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”