Are You The One? 
By Becky Rule

Recognizing Jesus is such a risky issue. Sometimes we do not recognize Him for who He is. If and when we do, we often do not like what we see! The lives of the Pharisees, the disciples, and John the Baptist prove that recognizing and accepting Him is a big challenge. If the Pharisees who had studied the scriptures till they knew them inside out did not perceive who Jesus was, I know that I will also miss Him if He doesn't open my blinded eyes. The scribes and Pharisees proved that knowing scripture and having spiritual education falls short. What hope do I have of recognizing Him when the disciples who lived with Him and walked with Him and learned from Him face to face did not know Him or perceive what His kingdom would be like? The disciples proved that our experiences with Him fall short. When I read that John the Baptist, whom Jesus called the greatest man born of woman, stated twice that he did not recognize Jesus (John 1:31,33) and later questioned that Jesus was the Expected One (Matt. 11:3; Luke 7:19), I know that I can easily miss Him. John the Baptist proves that spiritual revelation somehow doesn't hold us steady. Like the disciples, I sometimes wonder "Then who can be saved?"! (Matthew 19:25)

I am greatly sobered by Jesus' statement, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." (Matthew 11:6, Luke 7:23) Other translations state: "Blessed is he who does not fall away on account of Me," or "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." Becky's paraphrase says, "You are doing well if you are still trusting Me after I have blown away all your preconceived ideas of the Christian life. I am not who you think I am." Jesus' statement, combined with the misunderstandings of those closest to Him, proves to me that He is NOT what we expect He will be and He looks differently than we think He will. That gets my attention! The scribes and Pharisees, the disciples, and John the Baptist--all saw Him and knew Him at differing levels of intimacy, but each struggled to receive Him at certain points because His behavior didn't match with the assumptions they had made and the expectations they had formed based upon their particular focus. Lord, I want my eyes to be opened!

My own experience is that ultimately our beliefs will let us down. It is not that we don't acquire education and experience, but if we are dependent upon those things in order to recognize Him, we will somehow miss Him. The only way we won't miss Him is to walk in the terror of faith, trusting Him to reveal Himself because He hides Himself! Jesus praised His Father that He has "hidden these things from the wise and intelligent" and has "revealed them to infants." (Matthew 11:25) There is no other way for me to know Him except to be totally reliant upon Him to say, "It is I." And that is scary. That is walking in faith trusting Him to reveal Himself rather than relying on my sight based in what I can do and attain. I have built assumptions and expectations based upon my spiritual education, my understanding of the Bible, my experiences and my past relationship with Him. Ultimately, my beliefs based on those perceptions have failed me, but Jesus never has.