I Saw You, Jesus

November 1, 2013 | 36 comments

I saw you, Jesus.

You were in the back pew, with your sad eyes, and your two boys who wouldn’t sit still. Their dad was home, asleep on the couch.

I saw you.

You were in the corner of the conference-room hall. You were praying that someone might save a spot for you at a table.

You were in the diaper aisle, Jesus, with twenty items on your grocery list, but only enough money to pay for twelve.

I saw you, Jesus, but sometimes? I walk right past you.

You are the scruffy-bearded guy with the cardboard sign on the street corner. You are the overworked executive who hasn’t seen his family in a week. You live in Haiti, and you live down the street.

I have your unanswered email in my inbox.

You are the beggar, the lonely, the overlooked, the weary mother, the desperate, the out-of-style, the head-hanging-low. You know where the hidden bottles are, and how to make a life go numb. You know where the pills are, in case you want to call the whole thing off.

I saw you, Jesus. But did I serve you? Or did I simply look over your shoulder?

Lord, I beg you. Make me a servant. Cause me to sit in your pew, to kneel down in the mess on your kitchen floor, to hold your dirty hand in mine.

Because I wonder: Have we gotten too big for our britches, that we can no longer serve you in the ditches?

You are right.in.front.of.us.

How do we keep overlooking you? You’re in our newsfeeds and our living rooms, but are we looking over your shoulders for something, or someone, we find more tantalizing to feed our hungry hearts?

Dear God, make me a servant.

Jesus, you put off the privilege of heaven for the grit of earth. You gave up the throne room, for the basin. You were the only one in the history of forever who was worthy to be served, but this is what you did instead:

You put on an apron. You knelt. You washed feet. This, you said, is how you would could show “the full extent” of your love.

You had more titles than a Nobel Prize winner, but always pointed to the Father. You wowed people with miracles, then told them to keep quiet. You fed thousands, then stole away for quiet moments alone, away from the limelight. You weren’t about celebrity; you were about serving.

Lord, I want to serve you, just like you served. I want to serve you, but how often have I missed you sitting in the corners, the classrooms, the cubicles and the carpool lines? How often have I chased glitter?

Lord, I beg you: Break any platform, microphone, blog post, or book of mine, if it does not bring You alone glory.  We were not made for fame or fortune, but for the Father.

microphone

Strip me of any desire in my crowded heart to be known or applauded. Don’t let me get paralyzed by popularity or praise.

Make me a servant. Don’t allow me to overlook the overlooked. Take me to dark corners. Make my hands dirty. Break my two-faced heart. Give me an apron and a basin.

Because Lord Jesus… I don’t want to get to heaven and find out that, despite all I ever said or wrote or preached or Tweeted, I had missed out on the chance to serve you. To kneel beside.

To wash the feet of a King.  

“I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”

~ Jesus Christ

#washfeet

 

wash feet

 

 

 

 

by | November 1, 2013 | 36 comments

36 Comments

    • dukeslee

      Thanks for kneeling beside me, Constance Ann…

      Reply
  1. Debbie

    Such stirring words. May it be my prayer too.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Thank you for being here, Debbie.

      Reply
  2. Lisa Buffaloe

    Amen. Oh sweet friend, your words are so beautiful. So capture the beauty of Christ. Thank you. Kneeling at His feet beside you.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      You model this well, Lisa. You inspire.

      Reply
  3. Delia Latham

    I am speechless…with admiration for your beautiful post, and with shame for being less than a servant. Thank you!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      I am glad you are here, sweet Delia. But no shame, friend! Only grace. Let’s press on … in GRACE alone. No shame, OK? Pinky promise? 🙂

      Reply
  4. Helen Murray

    Oh Jennifer. That’s a hard post to read and a hard prayer to pray. I do want to be noticed, to be approved of, to be admired…. But I want to serve Him.
    Search me, Lord, and know my heart.
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Helen Murray … Yes, yes, yes, to all of what you say. This is the struggle of the human experience. To know in our hearts what is true, but to feel a pull toward something else. Let’s keep walking this one through together. We’re gonna make it!

      Reply
  5. Karmen

    Oh my goodness! The only reason I could read this without raising one hand in the air in praise is because it was clasped over my mouth in absolute awe. And conviction. And amazement. You said well what needed to be said. Thank you.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Karmen, I stand convicted as well. Just want to live these words out, til my dying day.

      Reply
  6. debyholtschlag

    you have been listening to my prayers……….again. Thank you for allowing His Words to flow through your hand. God so blesses.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Praying the words with you, Deby.

      Reply
  7. Cyndi

    Thank you for being His servant with this beautifully written reminder

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Grateful for you, Cyndi.

      Reply
    • dukeslee

      Reaching out a hand. Finding yours…

      Reply
  8. Megan Willome (@meganwillome)

    I sat next to the sweetest dad at church last night. He had his little girl with him, who I guess was about 3. She feel asleep in her dad’s arms about halfway through the service, right about the time we got to all the stand up/kneel/stand up/kneel. He stood up and knelt and stood up and knelt with that little girl asleep on his shoulder. He passed the peace with her asleep. And then he walked out with her asleep.

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      You had yourself a Jesus Sighting.

      Reply
  9. ~Karrilee~

    So much Yes and Amen, my friend! Just so much fire shot up in my bones! How is it when I am struggling to find words – you just spill them right out in front of me? LOVE you, Oh so much!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Karrilee… We share the same heartburn, eh? Holy heartburn. Let’s do this. 🙂

      Reply
  10. livingrealblog

    Powerful post Jennifer! Like many of the ladies before me, all I can say is “Yes!”

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Adding my yes to yours, sister. Let’s #washfeet.

      Reply
  11. ro elliott

    Amen…may it be done unto me according to your will!!!!

    Reply
    • dukeslee

      Yes, Ro… Thank you.

      Reply
  12. Mia

    Dear Jennifer
    You have filled my heart with tears and conviction and I stand united in prayer with you that our Lord will take that “self” out of the way and to fill up the selfish potholes in the road of our hearts so that Jesus will be visible deep within us. Only then will we be empty vessels for Him to fill with Himself and able to be true and worthy servants to wash the feet of those rejected by the world.
    Blessings XX
    Mia

    Reply
  13. pastordt

    Lovely, Jen. Thank you.

    Reply
  14. Caryn Christensenn

    THIS is my prayer…”We were not made for fame or fortune, but for the Father.” I’m asking the Lord to give me His eyes, His heart, and His boldness. Thank you Jennifer. Thank you.

    Reply
  15. Sandra Heska King

    Well, I know I commented. At least I thought I did. Anyway, me, too, friend. Me too.

    Reply
  16. Leah Adams

    Amen! I am sure I fail to see the least of these many times. I think busy-ness is what hinders so many of us from being the true servant of Christ. Thanks for the reminder, Jennifer. I love the microphone graphic.

    Reply
  17. janmacy

    Breath taking. A stab in the heart. Thank you for this reminder of where we should all be.

    Reply
  18. lynndmorrissey

    How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace…….how beautiful are the knees that bow, the hands that serve, the hearts that break. Jennifer, thank you for serving us with a feast of His words to you.

    Reply
  19. bluecottonmemory

    I hear my boys talk – about Christian teens who won’t reach out to the trouble-makers, the rebels, the ones who don’t talk their talk – and my heart grieves – so many in our classrooms overlooked, in our youth groups overlooked, in the Wal-Mart aisles overlooked – so many needing spiritual mothers and fathers but in a culture that is increasingly intolerant of mistakes while it boasts of tolerance – and my boys see me miss it daily – I don’t think they notice if I don’t miss it but they sure notice when I do – and I want to be an example of reaching the unseen, ignored ones! Powerful post, Jennifer – to pay attention to this mission field walking the same daily aisles, roads and paths we walk!

    Reply

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