Our home library includes some “Where’s Waldo” children’s books which feature a lanky, bespectacled young man in a red and white shirt, hidden in detailed drawings with scores of other people and objects. The reader must find Waldo on the incredibly busy double-page spread. It’s sometimes tricky, because the illustrator has dressed other people in similar clothes, but they aren’t Waldo. Only the highly discriminating, persevering eye can spot him.
I recently thought of these books in the context of real life, but with the question, “Where’s Jesus?” Finding Waldo might be easier for many people than finding Jesus. That’s because it’s difficult to find someone you’ve never seen before.
Sometimes as we go through life, we miss Jesus in our circumstances. We may only have a vague idea of what He looks like because we’ve spent so little time with Him, or we may be so caught up in the scene that we don’t even look for Him. Sometimes we can’t find Him because we’re looking in the wrong places.
Finding Jesus in our circumstances requires knowing what He’s like and how He operates. If we don’t know His grace and forgiveness, we may avoid Him in shame, fearing condemnation. If we have only some religious notion of Jesus—unaware that He came to heal and deliver, to destroy the works of the devil—then the devil may well wreak havoc and point at Jesus, saying, “He did it!” But there is no Jesus in some things. We’ll only find Jesus, when we’ve spent time with Him and know what He looks like.
We‘ll also miss finding Jesus if we’re caught up with cares, drowning in our feelings, or not looking for Him. We read of Jesus visiting two sisters, Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42). Even with Jesus under her roof, Martha was so busy with life, she could only see her to-do list. But Mary found Jesus, and stuck to Him like glue, hanging on His every word. Jesus commended her for having the right priorities.
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).
Following the resurrection, the women searching the empty tomb for Jesus encountered two curious angels who asked, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). They couldn’t find Him because they were looking in the wrong place. Jesus is about life, not death. He came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10). If you come from a tradition that depicts Jesus still on the cross, you’re looking in the wrong place. He died for our sins, conquered hell and death, rose from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father!
Are we learning to recognize Jesus by spending time with Him, and does that take top priority in our lives? Do we look to Him to gain His perspective? Where is Jesus in a course of action we’re considering? What line of thought has Jesus in it? Questions like these have merit, because like a treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price, Jesus is worth finding.
