Gratitude Is the Lifeline to JoyНамуна

Day 2: His Character Brings Peace

By Sherri Lynn

Read: Luke 5:12-13: In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

Reflection:

This past year made me do something strange: A character study of Jesus.

I write stage plays and musicals. When I embark on a new project, character studies are often the first things I do.

Who is this character?

What’s the character’s motivation?

What are the character’s tendencies and quirks?

When I figure out who the person is, the story will, at some point, begin to write itself.

Sometimes, in all the noise, chaos, and uncertainty, I start losing who Jesus was and is.

Him.

Not politics.

Not religion.

Not good Christian work.

Him.

So I started reading The Gospels. I wanted to see Jesus.

With every story, interaction, miracle, and parable, I began to write one sentence about what Jesus is like based on what I read.

As my list grew, my eyes filled with tears. My heart was filled with joy and thankfulness.

HE’S AMAZING.

A few recurring characteristics of this Beautiful Savior:

He Sees – Over and over, it mentions how Jesus SAW people. They weren’t invisible to Him. He took time to gaze at them. Notice them. I had to remind myself no matter what I’m facing, He’s looking right at me. Always. He sees me.

He Touches – There were times he spoke ‘a word’ and people were healed. But far more often, ‘He touched.’ He’s so personal. He wants connection with me. I’m not alone in this.

He Was Moved – This is a characteristic I hadn’t really ever picked up on before. There were so many times when He was moved with compassion. He saw people hungry and was moved to feed them. He saw people walking aimlessly, and He was moved to teach them. I had to remind myself that His heart is filled with compassion when He sees me, and it moves Him to action.

One interaction Jesus had summarized all these things:

Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed.

“Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said in Luke 5:12-13.

He’s willing: To see me. To touch me. To move on my behalf. I’m so thankful for who He is and who He longs to be to me.

I’m still reading. I should probably be done by now, but I’m trying to take it slowly. The ‘air of this culture’ is so polluted. It’s filled with fear, anxiety, and hate. And I’m doing my best to breathe Jesus in.

My grandma had a saying: “If you think, you’ll thank.”

So, I’m purposely thinking more about Jesus, and I’m thankful. Gram was right.

In these times of uncertainty, it’s His character that brings me peace. With every word I read of Him and from Him, I am reminded:

As it says in Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.