Monday, December 16, 2013
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Like most Americans, I just about O.D. on the news. No matter what it's about! It could be news about elections, some economic cliff, or eruptions in the Middle East. It's all important, but it's not exactly in the "joy to the world" category.
So I absolutely loved the feel-good story out of New York City that went viral across Facebook last Christmas. It was about the friendly policeman and the freezing homeless man. And it had "Christmas Story" written all over it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bare Feet, Boots and a Man In Blue."
In case you missed it, a young police officer, on patrol in Times Square, came upon a homeless man, sitting barefoot on the sidewalk. It was a "two pair of socks" night for the officer and even then his feet were freezing. He couldn't imagine a man sitting there barefoot all night. So the man in blue went inside a nearby store and bought the homeless man a $100 pair of boots with his own money. When he gave those boots to that barefoot man, well, you can imagine the joy.
It would have been one of life's invisible acts of kindness except for a tourist with a cell phone camera. She was so moved with what she was watching, she snapped a picture, which has now been seen by millions of people. Maybe because it was the Christmas season, that poignant scene triggered a flashback to something my personal Hero did over and over again. It's one of the many things that makes me love Him. That would be Jesus.
The incident I remember took place when Jesus was entering a town, surrounded by crowds anxious to see Him. The Bible says there was a blind beggar who had heard that "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." Much to the aggravation of the people around Jesus, he started shouting loudly, "Jesus, have mercy on me!"
A lot of annoyed people there told him in no uncertain terms to shut up. Or "shutteth up" (sounds more Biblical). So he just shouted louder. The blind man was a nuisance. He was an embarrassment; they had a "celebrity" in town. Then two little words that tell me so much about Jesus, and they're our word for today from the Word of God. Two words: Luke 18:40; "Jesus stopped". Nobody else stopped, but Jesus did. Not for the mayor. Not for the millionaires. Not for the ministers, but for the miserable. The guy everyone else walked by or walked over. That's who Jesus stops everything for. And the first thing that blind man ever saw was the face of Jesus. Because Jesus did what only He could do; He gave that man his sight.
The Bible's filled with stories of people nobody would stop for except Jesus. Marginalized people like blind Bartimaeus. Obnoxious people like Zacchaeus. Condemned people like the woman caught in the very act of adultery. Even the hardened criminal on the cross next to His, in His agony Jesus answered the thief's cry for mercy and guaranteed him heaven.
For 2,000 years, Jesus has been stopping for the lonely, the losers, the lost. And letting them know that someone knows their name. Someone hears their cry. Someone really loves them. And it's God's one and only Son. He sees me; He sees a world lost in sin, away from God, headed for an awful eternity. And He does what no one else could do. What no religion could ever do. He pays for my sins with His blood. In the words of the Bible, "He was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten so that we might have peace; He was lashed and we were healed!" (Isaiah 53:5).
You know, Jesus stopped for me when my soul was destitute, when my soul was doomed. Like the hymn says, "Once I was lost, but now I am found. I was blind, but now I see." Look, He might be passing your way today. He knows your name. He knows your scars. He knows your sin, and He died for it. He's reaching your direction. Why don't you grab His hand today to begin your personal relationship with the man who loved you enough to die for you.
Listen, if you want to know how; if I could possibly help you, would you check out our website ANewStory.com and join me there? Let Jesus do for you what only He can do.