See My Sender

For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. [John 12.45]

Jesus was convinced that God had sent Him. No circumstance Jesus encountered presented an obstacle to Him that His faith was not prepared to overcome. Why? Because Jesus understood and walked in the authority (He was convinced) God had given Him. As no surprise, He often referred to the authority He had been given. Jesus knew He was 'on mission' for God. To see Jesus was to see His Sender, God.

The amazing thing is, the Kingdom Jesus came to establish was not one in which He alone would receive all the power. In fact, the Kingdom Jesus came to establish would reveal itself in all its subjects enjoying all the power of heaven. He said no less in these words:

Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” [John 20.21]

Jesus is our sender. He was not unclear about the authority in which we should operate:

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this [curse a fig tree] and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” [Matthew 21.21-22]

There are two prevalent problems today that are closely related. One, people do not understand that they are sent to do the works of Jesus. And two, perhaps this is confounded by the fact that so few actually know Jesus (to know the works He did and sent His followers to do). It is highly unlikely that anyone will perform the works of a person they do not actually know.

There are those today who do believe Christians are sent to do the same works of Jesus and there are those who do not believe Christians today are sent to do the same works of Jesus. The sad truth is however that, other than the way perhaps they talk and worship and whose books they read, their lives all look the same.  Because the miraculous works of Jesus described in the New Testament are not evident in their lives, the proponents of neither group can actually be distinguished in the world as "Christian".

When we have the audacity not only to say but to actively believe, "For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me..." then we will operate in the Kingdom authority Jesus encouraged.

Father, I believe You sent me. I believe You sent Jesus to show me the way by clearing up any doubt about Your will in various circumstances (physical ailments, storms, money, food, and mental health). May I be found "Christian" because I look like Christ Who sent me and not just because I "claim it." May there be no circumstance in which I am unprepared to lay aside even my own life and interests so that Your will might be manifest on earth as it is in heaven!