“Mister Are You Jesus?”
There’s a story about a young boy living in Paris at the end of World War 2. He was an orphan because of the atrocities committed by the German forces. Now all alone, he had to scrounge around the city as best he could to find food, clothes and shelter.
But nearly everyone was experiencing desperate times, and most people either ignored him or had nothing to give to him.
Years before, he had heard someone talk about God and Jesus. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought into his life, he had long since lost what little faith he once had.
One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into the windows of shops and cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain.
He was so absorbed by the smell and sights of the bakery that he didn’t realize an American soldier had come up and was watching him.
The boy hardly noticed it when the G.I. walked past him into the store. He did, however, notice the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, and pastries. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier exited the shop, knelt down and handed him the bag.
He looked at the G.I. with astonishment and gratefulness. Finally, he asked the question that was running through his mind: “Mister, are you Jesus?”
To be mistaken for Jesus, what an audacious idea - to have our actions remind others of what Jesus is about, and what Jesus would do.
But shouldn’t that be our goal?
There’s a story about a young boy living in Paris at the end of World War 2. He was an orphan because of the atrocities committed by the German forces. Now all alone, he had to scrounge around the city as best he could to find food, clothes and shelter.
But nearly everyone was experiencing desperate times, and most people either ignored him or had nothing to give to him.
Years before, he had heard someone talk about God and Jesus. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought into his life, he had long since lost what little faith he once had.
One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into the windows of shops and cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain.
He was so absorbed by the smell and sights of the bakery that he didn’t realize an American soldier had come up and was watching him.
The boy hardly noticed it when the G.I. walked past him into the store. He did, however, notice the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, and pastries. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier exited the shop, knelt down and handed him the bag.
He looked at the G.I. with astonishment and gratefulness. Finally, he asked the question that was running through his mind: “Mister, are you Jesus?”
To be mistaken for Jesus, what an audacious idea - to have our actions remind others of what Jesus is about, and what Jesus would do.
But shouldn’t that be our goal?
