LifeLink Devotional

Monday, February 15, 2021

“Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”” (John 12:20-21)

What is the deepest and most compelling desire of your heart?

Here’s how many would attempt to answer that question. After going through a short mental list of earthly things, we turn our attention to eternal things. We think of all the descriptions of the glory of heaven. There will be streets of gold, and gates of pearl. There will be a permanent resolution of all physical and emotional pain in our new perfected body. Never again will we be tempted to sin as it is banished forever. We will revel in the sight of the mansion built personally for me by my Savior.  Oh, and we will see Him face to face.

How embarrassing. We come to the realization that we want to see Jesus only after listing all the preferred benefits of knowing Him. That’s like coming home from work and noticing the beautiful flower garden with no weeds, the freshly mown lawn, the clean garage, and the smell of pot roast in the crock pot, but not noticing the 13-year old son who did it all.

The most compelling desire of our hearts should be to see Jesus. Let every temporal benefit of knowing Jesus be removed, and His embrace should be enough to satisfy us. Let all the glory and splendor that surrounds Him be invisible to our eyes, and the love pouring from His eyes into ours is sufficient. Remove all the gold, pearls, crystal seas, and mansions, and Jesus alone completely satisfies. 

I want to see Jesus. And until I see Him face to face, I want Jesus to be seen in me by you. Remove all the wealth of this life, in any form, and may the treasure of Christ be sufficient for me. Remove all the benefits of this life, in any form, and may the joy of my salvation sing forth from the chains of suffering. Take all the things I trust to give me security, peace, and pleasure, and may I shine forth the light of Jesus as my all in all.

I want to see Jesus, and I want Jesus to be seen in me.

Pastor John