Jesus Came and Met Us Face to Face

What Did Jesus Do?

I hope to come to you and talk face to face,
so that our joy may be complete
2 John 12

I know young people will find this shocking, even hard to believe (Perhaps it’s a good thing that it is likely that very few young people ever see these WDJDs?), but there was a time when there was no email, no instant messaging, no Twitter, no Facebook. “Gasp! NO Facebook? How awful. It must have been terribly lonely for people back in the day.” Actually, people are more lonely now. You see, with all the modern electronic ways to keep in touch, there is a lot less actual touching, that is, truly coming into contact with others in a way that creates real relationships, happening these days. People are more isolated and lonely than ever, even though they may have dozens, even hundreds, of cyber-friends. The trouble with cyber-friends is that they can’t actually lend us a hand when we need it. They can’t hold us and hug us. They can’t pat us on the back, or offer a shoulder to cry on. Thankfully, Jesus was not that kind of friend to us, Jesus came and met us face to face.

The importance of real contact, of genuine encounters, of face to face ministry was not lost on John. So, even though he poured his heart into the letters he wrote to the Church (1 John), to a particular church (2 John), and to a beloved personal friend (3 John), John’s greatest desire was to meet face to face with those he called his little children. Te meet, to touch, to hold, to cry and to laugh together, was nothing less than complete joy to John.

John held such high regard for meeting and ministering face to face because 1) he had been a face to face disciple and friend of Jesus, and 2) he had witnessed the Lord meeting and ministering face to face (Mark 10:21, 27; Luke 19:5; John 1:42; along with many miracles when the Lord looked into the face of, spoke directly to, and/or touched those he helped.). We do not have a distant Savior who loves us from afar, who forgives us via a remote, who transforms our lives without benefit of touch. I believe one of the biggest challenges facing the Church in our day is that of supplanting the cyber-relationships so many are willing to settle for, with face to face relationships. Yes, it takes more effort, more time, to seek and meet others face to face. But consider the genuine, complete joy that is possible in so meeting, something simply not possible through emails, instant messages, or even up to the second Twitter tweets or Facebook statuses.

John refused to permit a letter replace meeting face to face with those whom Jesus loved. And Jesus never said, “You email” or “You i-m” or “You tweet” or “You Facebook” to his disciples, he said “You go…” Jesus calls and commissions all of us to go and minister face to face. So, here’s our challenge today, and every day—get off Facebook and go to a friend, and bring some real joy to someone (and enjoy some ourselves) by meeting face to face. That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4