WALKING WITH JESUS

When the writer of Hebrews put pen to paper and left us the Hebrew letter, he gave us a wonderful picture of "God's Hall of Fame of the Faithful" in chapter 11. One of those mentioned there is a man by the name of Enoch. The scripture tells us that Enoch was translated that he should not see death and the testimony of Enoch was that he pleased God. The writer of Genesis tells us that "Enoch walked with God". Then, when Peter wrote his epistles, he writes for us that Christ left us an example that we should follow in His steps (I Peter 2:21). Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about walking with God and following in the steps of Jesus? Where did those steps of Jesus lead? If you walked with Jesus, where would you walk? 

Think about the place that God chose for Jesus' home. It was a small, relatively insignificant country. Yet, today, names like Judea, Sychar and Jericho are familiar to us because Jesus was there. Jesus walked there. Every foot of Galilee is sacred because Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee. He knew the blue waters of the Sea of Galilee and he was familiar with the stillness of the Dead Sea. 

I want you to visualize Jesus walking by the sea. Sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of his disciples. Jesus knew the freshness of the dawn walking by the sea. He knew the brightness of the stars walking there at night. Jesus knew the desert and he knew the city streets. This land was the land that he loved. 

When we think of Jesus, we often think of him as being homeless. We remember him saying the foxes have holes and the birds have nests and he had no place to lay his head. However, just like the rest of us, Jesus had a home of his own. He lived there growing up with his mother and Joseph, his foster father. His brothers and sisters were there also. 

The experiences of the childhood years belong to the family. We can only imagine the home scenes of the hidden years of Jesus' live. Using Phillips' translation, Luke 2:51-52 has these words, "Then he went home with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. And his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And as Jesus continued to grow in body and mind, he grew also in the love of God and of those who knew him." Such a simple sentence, and yet packed with the essence of living. Obviously in that home there was joy and laughter. There was time for affection, guidance and discipline. No doubt that home provided him with religious instruction. The doctors in the Temple were amazed with what he knew. I can imagine that home found time for prayer and study. I can also see Jesus helping Joseph in the carpenter shop. I can see him being assigned chores and responsibilities. Yet, once Jesus began his ministry, he had no home of his own. However, we see him often in the homes of others. 

One place he frequented was a home in Bethany. This is a home where probably his footsteps were heard most often. Matthew 21 records the walk out of Jerusalem to Bethany. We assume this was like many of the walks of Jesus. It was a walk to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. It was a place where Jesus felt at home, a place where he felt welcome. 

I remember reading a story of a poorly dressed man who visited an antique shop one day. He looked longingly at the lovely items on display. He left and returned about 10 or 12 days later asking if a deposit could be made on a piece of crystal. Each week he made a payment and at last this beautiful piece of crystal was his. The owner of the shop asked what the man intended to do with his crystal. The man said, "I bought it for my little rented room. I try to buy a few nice things to keep there. It isn't much, but it's where I live."

Think about that statement. Where do I live? What have I brought to my home? If Jesus came to Center would he feel at home in my house? Would my home honestly welcome a visit from Jesus? May we follow the example of that little home in Bethany and make our homes a place where Jesus would feel at home.

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