Ann's Jesus

Today I went to pick up the belongings of my best friends mother, Ann. For the past 15 years she had lived in a nursing home. She died two weeks ago. It is sobering to realize that a lifetime can be held in just a few boxes.

As I was leaving the home, two significant things occurred. The first was a nurse named Janice came running after me to express to me what a blessing Ann had been to everyone. “She was a light in the darkness. This is a Jewish home, you know. But, Ann was always ready to pray with anyone who would come to her room. Even though she was going through what she was going through, she managed to touch the lives of others. God placed her here for a season and she was just waiting to go home. She used to tell me that if I didn’t see her anymore, not to worry. I would be sure and meet her again. In another place.”

The maintenance man loaded the cart with her things and we walked down the empty hallway to my car. Ann’s collection of things amounted to a few boxes, a television, and some pictures that she had hung on the wall of her small room. As the man pulled the cart filled with a lifetime of memories into the parking lot, the pictures fell off the top and the second significant thing occurred. The framed picture of Jesus broke. Glass shattered everywhere and the only thing left of the picture was Jesus. I began to weep as I understood the significance of this. For Ann, the picture of Jesus had graced the wall of her room for years. He had held together for her the brokenness of her life and had made possible the hope she had brought into the lives of others. But, she is at home now and doesn’t need a reminder of Him. His words to her are the words that have been echoed down through the ages, “You are my beloved. On you my favor rests.” Ann is in His presence, because Jesus doesn’t break.

Only Two Simple Things

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another..." 1 John 3:23

In the end, it's all much simpler than we sometimes want to make it. Everything we think God expects us to be and do is simply overwhelming at times. But really, he only asks two simple things of us. He doesn't ask of us to focus on fulfilling the 10 commandments, nor especially the thousands of laws and regulations managed by the Old Testament legalists. He asks two simple things: believe in Jesus and love each other. I love the simplicity and freedom of that. It seems achievable. And I suspect that if we've mastered these two simple things, we will look back and realize we have achieved much more.

If we really believe that Jesus did all those things - healing people born with blindness and terrible physical infirmities, turning crumbs to loaves, raising people from the dead. If we really believe that he was raised from death and lives with God in eternity appealing to God on our behalf. If we believe that he has all the answers and is limited by nothing and knows what is in our best interest, then we'll live a lot differently. We'll admit to our failures and we'll surrender to his purposes for us. If we really believe in Jesus, we'll act like it he's still alive and I'm part of his purpose in this world.

Secondly, if we really believe and experience Jesus fully, we'll have such an overflow of joy and love that it will pour out on those around us. We'll seek the interest of others beyond our own. We'll find ourselves grieved for those who are experiencing loneliness, illness, hopelessness and poverty. We'll respond with gentleness and kindness to those who wrong us and we'll initiate kind words and actions towards everyone we come in contact with. We'll love people and experience the joy that comes with it.

So let's let it come down to these two simple things. Let's ask Jesus to help us believe in him more fully and love people more completely. Then we will have fulfilled his command.