The other day I was reading an article in which the author asked an interesting question. He asked, “What has Jesus done for you today?” He went on to encourage each reader to take five to ten minutes that day to quietly reflect on that question… “What has Jesus done for you today?” So, I decided that was a good exercise to try. I paused at my work and began to reflect. What has Jesus done for me today?
At first, I couldn’t really think of anything. Then something came to mind. There was the moment in the grocery store. I got in line to pay for my items. I only had two things. The person in front of me didn’t have a lot, maybe ten items or so. But she started having a conversation with the check out people in response to the question… “Did you find everything OK?” She obviously hadn’t and was talking to the staff about it. But in doing so she wasn’t moving anything from her cart to the counter to check out. Now, I’ll admit in situations like this I can tend to be a bit impatient. I never say anything directly to the person, but I’m quite sure my body language is saying… “Can we move things along here…I’m in a bit of a hurry!”
But here’s the deal, I wasn’t doing that this time. I was just calmly standing there. The person in front of me even turned and looked at me. I smiled and she smiled. Finally, the conversation ended and everything was rung up, paid for, and my turn came. OK, I think Jesus helped me in that moment because I wasn’t even thinking snarky thoughts while I waited. Hmmm…this was a good exercise. Jesus did help me today. Thank you, Jesus!
Then after reflecting a few more moments on that original question, a second question popped into my mind. “What have I done for Jesus today?” Well, that’s an interesting question. I had to stop and ponder that one for a bit too. I can’t say there was ever an intentional thought in my mind, “I’m doing this (whatever I was involved with) for Jesus” as I went through my day. Had I done anything for Jesus that day?
The more I thought about it, I reflected that I do try to live my life in such a way that it allows the presence and the love of Jesus to be seen in our world. Do I always get it right or reflect Jesus well? Probably not. But like John Wesley talked about, we are going on to perfection. Meaning, hopefully each day I’m living a bit more Christ-like than I did the day before. If I can look back to a year ago to what my thoughts and attitudes were then and then consider what they are now, well, hopefully there has been growth and that I am not the same person that I was a year ago
As I’ve thought more about these two questions, 2 Corinthians 5:17 came to mind. This a passage that I memorized many years ago; “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has passed away…the new has come.” The theme of this verse is being reflected, I believe, in these two questions I’m asking in this article. You see, as a follower of Jesus, Jesus is making me into a new creation – that is what he is doing for me. And keep in mind, this isn’t a once and done thing…it is an ongoing transformation. And because I am a new creation, a transformation is taking place within me and in how I live. Living out this transformation is what I do for Christ each day. How I live my life today is a direct reflection of what Jesus is doing in me, for me, and through me. Wow…all of that from a simple question I read. “What has Jesus done or me today?” Great question.
Today I would encourage each of us to ask these two questions; “What has Jesus done for me today?” and “What have I done for Jesus today?” In the midst of these thoughts also read 2 Corinthians 5:17. May the transforming power of Jesus continue to do its work within me and within each of us. That, in great part, is what Jesus is doing in me. And that impacts what I (and we) do for Jesus each day. What a journey we share together…the journey of transformation.
Pastor Keith