Who is Jesus?

When I was in Bethlehem last Christmas, we arrived early to a Christmas party in Ramallah to set-up. During set-up and mic check, I decided to recite scripture as opposed to the usual “mic check....one...two...can you hear me?…” I proceeded to recite what I knew of the first chapter of John's gospel.

“In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. And the Word was God”....and on and on until “the Word became flesh”, in Arabic. While I did this, I noticed a couple of hotel staff standing in the back, paying close attention to what I had been saying. It also happened that during the service, I was planning on sharing my story of how I came to know the Lord. At the very end of the night, one of the hotel staff who I had noticed listening to me during sound check and throughout the rest of the evening, came up to me and asked: "Hey, I heard you talk about Jesus. Who is Jesus?" ....My first thought: WHOAA!!

"Have a seat brother, let me tell you" was my response with a smile on my face. And for the

next ten minutes I proceeded to share Jesus with him. I started with creation in Genesis 1 and talked about the fall and the redemption that is available only through Jesus Christ. I pleaded with this brother to put his faith in Jesus and repent of his sins, because salvation is found in no one else but Jesus, “for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved”. I answered as many of his questions as I could in my poorly accented Arabic before giving him the bible that I had (which was actually my friend’s Bible! Ha! Sorry Fares ;)

It was a great night and I was blessed but it dawned on me that the man’s question to me would be one that we all will have to answer one day. Who is Jesus?

1- What is your answer to that question? Who is Jesus to you, personally?

2- How does that shape how you: I) Portray and present him to others, and II) Help those who don't know him to answer the same question?

I pray for an awareness this week of how we can better represent Jesus to everyone around us. I pray to consciously and intentionally let Him be seen in and through me, and in all my interactions. He is alive in us. I once heard a pastor put it this way: "He is in you and he wants out!"

1 John 2:6 "Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked"

How will you respond?