Emmanuel
Gosh, it was hard getting out of bed this morning. It seems the older this body gets, the more effort it takes to get it moving. But, in an act of pure superhuman strength, I dragged myself out of bed and headed off to my favorite idol - the coffee pot. It's still dark in the house when I getup, so I was cautiously making my way to the kitchen, trying not to trip on any toys, when I heard a small tapping coming from my front door. "We never get visitors first thing in the morning," I mumbled to myself. I'm not fit for beholding by man or beast before my first cup of coffee. Nevertheless, I opened the door just a crack to see who was there.
"Good morning," he whispered, "Shhh! I don't want to wake your kids."
I couldn't believe it. There stood Jesus at my front door! I panicked. 'My house is a mess and I haven't yet showered and shaved,' I thought. I'm not prepared for guests this early in the morning, in fact, I usually need a 3-day notice.
"Lord, you can come in, but my house..."
"I'm not a guest, I'm family," he smiled.
"This is gonna be tricky," I thought.
"Go ahead, get your cup of coffee." He followed me quietly to the kitchen.
"Lord, what are you doing here? I thought that you were supposed to, you know, descend from heaven with a shout and all that stuff..."
He again put his finger to his lips. "Our secret," he whispered, "I never really left." A million thoughts went through my head as to why he was here. Why now? What did he want?
"I heard your prayers last night, Bill."
I thought of my prayers last night - for friends, for new-found family. Even my 'selfish' ones - my concerns, my confusions, my lack of clear direction, my feelings of insufficiency. "And you're here to answer them?" I asked politely.
He smiled again. Man, I wish I could instill in others the acceptance I saw in that smile. "I am the Answer to them," he replied. "and I just wanted to share the day with you. You know, go with you to work..."
'Oh, gosh,' I thought. 'I'm not prepared.'
"Bill, you don't need to be prepared, I'm not here to evaluate your performance. I'm just here to be with you. I'm your life. We're in this together. Do all the things you normally do..."
I quietly laughed. "I won't even know you're there, right, Lord?"
"Oh, you'll know," he smiled again. Man, that smile... "Do you trust me?"
I was trying to analyze his question.
"Trust me," he said.
Ok, here we go.
Just a parable.
And a reality.
Bill Mc
Gosh, it was hard getting out of bed this morning. It seems the older this body gets, the more effort it takes to get it moving. But, in an act of pure superhuman strength, I dragged myself out of bed and headed off to my favorite idol - the coffee pot. It's still dark in the house when I getup, so I was cautiously making my way to the kitchen, trying not to trip on any toys, when I heard a small tapping coming from my front door. "We never get visitors first thing in the morning," I mumbled to myself. I'm not fit for beholding by man or beast before my first cup of coffee. Nevertheless, I opened the door just a crack to see who was there.
"Good morning," he whispered, "Shhh! I don't want to wake your kids."
I couldn't believe it. There stood Jesus at my front door! I panicked. 'My house is a mess and I haven't yet showered and shaved,' I thought. I'm not prepared for guests this early in the morning, in fact, I usually need a 3-day notice.
"Lord, you can come in, but my house..."
"I'm not a guest, I'm family," he smiled.
"This is gonna be tricky," I thought.
"Go ahead, get your cup of coffee." He followed me quietly to the kitchen.
"Lord, what are you doing here? I thought that you were supposed to, you know, descend from heaven with a shout and all that stuff..."
He again put his finger to his lips. "Our secret," he whispered, "I never really left." A million thoughts went through my head as to why he was here. Why now? What did he want?
"I heard your prayers last night, Bill."
I thought of my prayers last night - for friends, for new-found family. Even my 'selfish' ones - my concerns, my confusions, my lack of clear direction, my feelings of insufficiency. "And you're here to answer them?" I asked politely.
He smiled again. Man, I wish I could instill in others the acceptance I saw in that smile. "I am the Answer to them," he replied. "and I just wanted to share the day with you. You know, go with you to work..."
'Oh, gosh,' I thought. 'I'm not prepared.'
"Bill, you don't need to be prepared, I'm not here to evaluate your performance. I'm just here to be with you. I'm your life. We're in this together. Do all the things you normally do..."
I quietly laughed. "I won't even know you're there, right, Lord?"
"Oh, you'll know," he smiled again. Man, that smile... "Do you trust me?"
I was trying to analyze his question.
"Trust me," he said.
Ok, here we go.
Just a parable.
And a reality.
Bill Mc
