You know, it wasn't supposed to happen this way, at least in theory. But I had asked for it, indeed I had gone looking for it, and when I received the answer to my prayer, I was changed forever.
What am I talking about you ask? I'm talking about looking into the eyes of God, or to be more specific, seeing Jesus in another person. I thought it would be more of a symbolic thing, instead, it was reality. So let me share with you how this came to be.
"For I was hungry and You gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me." Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison and visit You?" The King will reply "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:35-40).
One day this passage of the scriptures came alive for me, and it cut me deeply to the very center of my heart. My mind raced as I rationalized it away as an allegory of the final judgment. Yet, it was at a time that I was learning about the work of other Christian brethren in the world. I had been deeply moved by the work of Mother Teresa amongst the poorest of the poor. This is how she summed up the joy of her ministry;
"Feeding the hungry Christ.
Clothing the naked Christ.
Visiting the sick Christ.
Giving shelter to the homeless Christ.
Teaching the ignorant Christ.
We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with Him at this very moment. But being happy with Him now means loving like He loves, helping like He helps, giving as He gives, serving as He serves, rescuing as He rescues, being with Him twenty-four hours a day--touching him in His distressing disguise."
This statement about a distressing disguise had me curious, and so I embarked on a journey, some may say it was a mystical experience, others may call it a mere coincidence, but I know the truth; I met Christ in His distressing disguise.
I had just completed The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It had inspired me to turn my every thought and action into a prayer and an act of worship for the Lord. I had prayed about it for several days and had already begun to practice this rather intense form of prayer. Finally, the time came for me to practice it at work.
In those days I worked for a very large medical clinic. Essentially, my job was to map out our clients electrical pathways within the heart. The day had been fairly easy; few patients, few heart problems, and for me, a fantastic prayer time at my work place. It was easy to love others and turn every bit of work into a act of worship for God. And then the Lord showed up.
The receptionist had brought back the order for the EKG for the next patient. She rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'wait till you see this one!' No problem I thought, I would love my neighbor as myself, indeed, as if he or she were the Lord Himself! I strolled around the corner and was about to call out the patients name when I noticed that half of the waiting room was empty and a lone patient sat in a wheelchair. The other half of the room had patients in the chairs, except they were opposite of the lonely patient sitting alone. And that's when I saw her, and my stomach lurched. It was, to this day, the saddest, and the most horrific image I have ever seen. This patient, this poor dying soul did not have a face. Now I understood in an instant why lepers had been treated the way they were. All that was left of her face were her two sad, yet incredibly bright eyes. Her nasal cavity, mouth, and her chin were all gone. And through that large orifice, you could hear her struggle to breath with a sickening gurgle. Again my stomach lurched.
I shot back around the corner. No way was I going to perform a test on her! Let someone else do it. I placed the order back on the table and quickly excused myself to the bathroom.
Five minutes later I returned to the office and noticed that everyone was busy, and that her order was still there. I went over to a computer and attempted to busy myself. And then, like Elijah, it was as if I could hear God whisper to me...and then I knew! "I was sick,and you looked after me." It was the Lord coming to me in a distressing disguise.
Standing up, I swallowed hard and approached my 'patient'. Telling her my name, I proceeded to wheel her into one of our dimly lit examination rooms. Behind me I could hear the other patient’s beginning to murmur. Not to be obvious about her condition, I looked her directly in the eyes and explained to her about the test I was about to perform on her. But her eyes! They were both sad and yet so very full of light. Indeed, they were the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. She couldn't reply, but she nodded her head that she understood. I performed the procedure on her while reassuring her that the test was quick and painless. She couldn't speak to me, but her eyes told me thank you...it was a heartfelt blessing that suddenly made me realize how much I have in this life...how much I take for granted.
When the procedure was done, I called for an escort to take her to her next appointment. I kneeled in front of her as she slumped once more in her wheelchair. Taking her hands I said "The Lord bless you and keep you". Her eyes teared up, as did mine, and I stood and went to prepare the procedure room for the next patient. Alone, I broke down and wept.
Later in the day, I decided to find out more about her condition. However, I couldn't find her test, or any record for that matter of her visit. It was as if she was never there. But she was, because in the distressing disguise of a poor, sick, lonely patient, I was able to touch the Lord Jesus.
What am I talking about you ask? I'm talking about looking into the eyes of God, or to be more specific, seeing Jesus in another person. I thought it would be more of a symbolic thing, instead, it was reality. So let me share with you how this came to be.
"For I was hungry and You gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me." Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison and visit You?" The King will reply "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:35-40).
One day this passage of the scriptures came alive for me, and it cut me deeply to the very center of my heart. My mind raced as I rationalized it away as an allegory of the final judgment. Yet, it was at a time that I was learning about the work of other Christian brethren in the world. I had been deeply moved by the work of Mother Teresa amongst the poorest of the poor. This is how she summed up the joy of her ministry;
"Feeding the hungry Christ.
Clothing the naked Christ.
Visiting the sick Christ.
Giving shelter to the homeless Christ.
Teaching the ignorant Christ.
We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with Him at this very moment. But being happy with Him now means loving like He loves, helping like He helps, giving as He gives, serving as He serves, rescuing as He rescues, being with Him twenty-four hours a day--touching him in His distressing disguise."
This statement about a distressing disguise had me curious, and so I embarked on a journey, some may say it was a mystical experience, others may call it a mere coincidence, but I know the truth; I met Christ in His distressing disguise.
I had just completed The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It had inspired me to turn my every thought and action into a prayer and an act of worship for the Lord. I had prayed about it for several days and had already begun to practice this rather intense form of prayer. Finally, the time came for me to practice it at work.
In those days I worked for a very large medical clinic. Essentially, my job was to map out our clients electrical pathways within the heart. The day had been fairly easy; few patients, few heart problems, and for me, a fantastic prayer time at my work place. It was easy to love others and turn every bit of work into a act of worship for God. And then the Lord showed up.
The receptionist had brought back the order for the EKG for the next patient. She rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'wait till you see this one!' No problem I thought, I would love my neighbor as myself, indeed, as if he or she were the Lord Himself! I strolled around the corner and was about to call out the patients name when I noticed that half of the waiting room was empty and a lone patient sat in a wheelchair. The other half of the room had patients in the chairs, except they were opposite of the lonely patient sitting alone. And that's when I saw her, and my stomach lurched. It was, to this day, the saddest, and the most horrific image I have ever seen. This patient, this poor dying soul did not have a face. Now I understood in an instant why lepers had been treated the way they were. All that was left of her face were her two sad, yet incredibly bright eyes. Her nasal cavity, mouth, and her chin were all gone. And through that large orifice, you could hear her struggle to breath with a sickening gurgle. Again my stomach lurched.
I shot back around the corner. No way was I going to perform a test on her! Let someone else do it. I placed the order back on the table and quickly excused myself to the bathroom.
Five minutes later I returned to the office and noticed that everyone was busy, and that her order was still there. I went over to a computer and attempted to busy myself. And then, like Elijah, it was as if I could hear God whisper to me...and then I knew! "I was sick,and you looked after me." It was the Lord coming to me in a distressing disguise.
Standing up, I swallowed hard and approached my 'patient'. Telling her my name, I proceeded to wheel her into one of our dimly lit examination rooms. Behind me I could hear the other patient’s beginning to murmur. Not to be obvious about her condition, I looked her directly in the eyes and explained to her about the test I was about to perform on her. But her eyes! They were both sad and yet so very full of light. Indeed, they were the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. She couldn't reply, but she nodded her head that she understood. I performed the procedure on her while reassuring her that the test was quick and painless. She couldn't speak to me, but her eyes told me thank you...it was a heartfelt blessing that suddenly made me realize how much I have in this life...how much I take for granted.
When the procedure was done, I called for an escort to take her to her next appointment. I kneeled in front of her as she slumped once more in her wheelchair. Taking her hands I said "The Lord bless you and keep you". Her eyes teared up, as did mine, and I stood and went to prepare the procedure room for the next patient. Alone, I broke down and wept.
Later in the day, I decided to find out more about her condition. However, I couldn't find her test, or any record for that matter of her visit. It was as if she was never there. But she was, because in the distressing disguise of a poor, sick, lonely patient, I was able to touch the Lord Jesus.
