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Looking for the
Savior
Once there was a man whose life was one of misery. The days were
cloudy, and the nights were long. Henry didn't want to be
unhappy, but he was. With the passing of the years, his life had
changed. His children were grown. The neighborhood was
different. The city seemed harsher.
He
was unhappy. He decided to ask his minister what was
wrong. "Am I unhappy for some sin I have
committed?" "Yes, " the wise pastor
replied. "You have sinned." "And what might
that sin be?" "Ignorance," came the reply.
"The sin of ignorance. One of your neighbors is the Messiah
in disguise, and you have not seen him."
The old man left the office
stunned. "The Messiah is one of my neighbors?"
He began to think whom it might be.
Tom the butcher? No, he's too
lazy. Mary, my cousin down the street? No, too much
pride. Aaron the paperboy? No, too indulgent.
The man was confounded. Every person he knew had defects.
But one was the Messiah. He began to look for Him.
He began to notice things he hadn't
seen. The grocer often carried the sacks to the cars of older
ladies. Maybe he is the Messiah. The officer at the
corner always had a smile for the kids. Could it be? And
the young couple who'd moved next door. How kind they are to
their cat. Maybe one of them . . .
With time he saw things in
people he'd never seen. And with time his outlook on life began
to change. The bounce returned to his step. His eyes took
on a friendly sparkle. When others spoke he listened.
After all, he might be listening to the Messiah. When anyone
asked for help, he responded; after all this might be the Messiah
needing assistance.
The change of attitude was so
significant that someone asked him why he was so happy. "I
don't know," he answered. "All I know is that things
changed when I started looking for God."
Now, that's curious. The old man
saw Jesus because he didn't know what he looked like. The people
in Jesus' day missed him because they thought they did.
How are things looking in your
neighborhood?
(An excerpt from A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado)
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