Real People

These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality; however, is found in Christ.  (Colossians 2:17)

You’ll never find real people when you stand above them.
You’ll only find real people when you stand among them.

I wrote that down on a scrap of paper one day. I don’t even remember the circumstances that caused me to ponder that thought, but it has been tumbling in my mind ever since.

Jesus loved real people. He stood among them constantly throughout His ministry.
He did not enjoy the company of the Jewish leaders.
Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites” numerous times and “white washed tombs”.
…on the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:28).

Were the Pharisees “real”?
Jesus says that everything they do is done for men to see. (Matthew 23:5)
We learn that the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7).

I think of Zacchaeus (Luke 19), who climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus better. As chief tax collector, dinner at his home upset the crowd, but Jesus loved real people.
He was sensitive to the spark of faith which manifested itself in so many ways.

What did real faith look like?

It was Mary (John 12), anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume and wiping them with her hair as she knelt before Him. It was the bleeding woman who reached out to touch Jesus’ cloak. His disciples thought it was foolish of Jesus to ask, “Who touched my clothes?”, but Jesus knew the touch of real faith. It was different than the touch of the crowd just pressing in for a cursory glance. (Mark 5)

I remember reading the Velveteen Rabbit to my children where the concept of real perplexed the little rabbit. The wise old Skin Horse said, “Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long, time, not just to play with but really loves you, then you become real. (The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams).

Jesus loved the “realness” of little children. Upon being asked who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus called a little child and had him stand AMONG them.
(Matthew 18:2; emphasis mine).

He did not pull a Pharisee over, or a curiosity seeker looking for another sign, but He pulled over a child as if to say this is what real faith looks like.
Isn’t it fortunate for us that He did?

Real child-like faith is abandoned; it is honest; it has no personal gain.
Jesus did not wait until we grew up, lost ten pounds, straightened our teeth, or used all the correct words. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).

He called us and had us stand AMONG the people.
Isn’t that what HE did?
Didn’t the Father call Him to stand among us?

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

 When Jesus stood among the real people that He loved, He demonstrated the way to stand “among”.  He is the Way, the Absolute Truth, the only Reality.

God’s heart cry is to be with His people.
The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the story of God’s all-consuming desire to be with us. From the question, Where are you? (Genesis 3:9) spoken to Adam after the Fall, to the announcement, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God (Revelation 21:3), we see a God who longs to be AMONG His people.

How can we do less than God has already done?
How real are we?