(Recently, I came across this commentary I wrote in the early 1990s and wanted to share it.)

Jesus came to our door last night. It was quite a surprise. His skin was black, his face covered with blood, and he was drunk.

When I answered the door, he mumbled, “Ah.. ah.. need help… had a wreck on my bicycle and I need help.”

The man had come to our side door and wobbled where he stood. My wife Kathy, brought out a chair for him to sit on and then hastened inside to call 911. I squatted down in front of him and comforted him by patting his shoulder. His head was lowered and a drop of blood dripped off his mustache. I was hard to tell at first whether he was actually drunk or in shock from the accident, or both. Kathy was speaking into the landline phone and looking into the carport through the glass panels in the door. She was clearly trying to explain the situation to the emergency operator.

Not really sure what was going on, I called out to her, “Tell them to send an ambulance now!” I was concerned that the operator was wasting time. Kathy opened the door and said, “They already have an ambulance on the way… they just need some more information.” Okay, I thought. But this man needs some help!

I looked closely at this man, in his middle 40s, dazed and injured, and saw the spirit of God within him. This was not some kind of mystical apparition, but simply a recognition that this man was created in the image of God. Jesus tells us he deserves the best care that can be provided. He was not to be scorned and mocked; he should not to be rejected. This injured man should be treated as though he were the Carpenter from Galilee who came stumbling to my door. What we do to others is what we are doing for Jesus.

In two or three minutes, the emergency squad pulled up, soon to be followed by a sheriff’s deputy and, much to the delight of the neighborhood kids, an enormous fire department truck. The ambulance crew come walking up the driveway and one of them was wearing yellow rubber gloves. For a moment, I froze. Immediately, I began looking at my hands to make sure that none of the blood was on me. There was blood on our doorbell and door, but I was okay, no exposure.

The man with the gloves spoke gruffly to my visitor, “Hey! What happened! You been drinkin’? Say! You been drinking?”

The accident victim kept his eyes looking down, “Yahssir…”

“What you been drinkin’?” The medic barked.

“Gin.”

Then he turned to me, smiled and spoke respectfully. He wanted to gather a little more information: No, I have never seen this man before. He just happened to come to our door. It seemed like it could be serious. Then the medic turned back to the dazed man with a harsher tone in his voice: “Okay. Get up. Let’s go to the truck.”

My injured visitor was led to the bottom of our driveway, were he sat down awkwardly onto the pavement. I don’t think anyone was particularly excited about getting blood on the inside of their vehicles. I can’t say I blame them. But I do wish they had been a bit more respectful. Do they not recognize who this man actually is?

Well, the excitement was now over and a few thoughts lingered in my head. What does it mean to see every person as a child of God? What does it mean to treat people with dignity and respect, even when they are so undignified in their behavior? What does it mean to really love people? Is love a feeling, or some sense of right behavior?

Let’s look at the scripture…

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord when did we see you hungry… or thirsty… a stranger… needing clothes… sick… or in prison?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:35-39)

You know, Kathy and I are accustomed to dealing with unusual situations in our ministry and were not affected by the fact our drunk visitor an African-American, but this occurred in rural Georgia in the early 1990s and the thought occurred to us: Out of the 24 doors on our street, how is it that he stumbled up to ours? Who knows? Maybe somewhere out there is a mother, or father, or grandparent, somebody, somewhere who cares deeply for this wayward child and praying for God to protect him as he struggles with the effects of his alcoholism… prayers that led him to a door where God knew he would be met with respect.

When we start looking for Jesus in others, we will find him everywhere. We will find Jesus standing at the side of the road with a cardboard sign, or pass him in the aisle of the grocery store, or in the faces of children, and in our homes, and in how we interact with others. We will serve Jesus when he visits, we may even travel to neighborhoods where he can be found playing a pick-up game of basketball. When we start seeing Jesus in others, we begin to notice him in ourselves. I think this is part of what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

But it is pretty exciting anytime Jesus shows up at your carport door. Let’s all keep our eyes open. We wouldn’t want to miss him.

Because we loved you, it was a joy to us to give you not only the Gospel of God but our very hearts—so dear did you become to us. 1 Thessalonian 2:8 (Phillips)

At the time, Khishai was 14 years old, the oldest of four. Two years earlier, her mother died suddenly and the children were being raised by a grandmother, as there was no father in the picture. We met Khishai through a ministry that Kathy and I started called Deaf Teen Quest that brought teenagers together for fun, friendship, fellowship, faith.

On this particular day, Khishai ate dinner with us following a scheduled event. Our table is round and she sat alongside our other children and quietly observed as we sat down, put food on the table, prayed, and started eating. Kathy and I asked each of the kids about their day, how was school, what was coming up… basic table conversation (which unfortunately didn’t always happen this smoothly). At one point, Khishai sat up and said, almost to herself, “You wait for each other, you brought food, you prayed, you talk to each other… I’ve never experienced this before… and I like it!” Over the next year, Khishai made a personal faith commitment and her heart continues to burns with a desire to serve Jesus.

Khishai grew up in a loving family but since she is the only deaf person in her family, so like many others, her life was impacted by isolation. There is only one child born with hearing loss for every 1,000 hearing children. Only two of ten are born into language-rich, signing environments; 80% of the families of deaf children cannot sign. Deaf Teen Quest creates opportunities for caring, Christian adults to enter the world of deaf and hard of hearing teenagers, with the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.

“Because we loved you…” Personal ministry is entering the world of lost and hurting people because we care and God calls. We don’t need all the answers; we go with the “answer-giver,” the Holy Spirit. We are just called to go and keep open hearts.

“… it was a joy to us to give you not only the Gospel of God…” Personal ministry is simply being honest about what we’ve learned, experienced, or read about God in the scriptures or from other dependable sources. We don’t have permission to make it up; we pass it on, in a context that makes sense for each unique person or people group.

“…but our very hearts—so dear did you become to us.” Personal ministry is about removing barriers to the Gospel. Lack of trust is often one of the major obstacles. People are not projects, they are image-bearers of our God. Love them longer than they can hurt; pursue them farther than they can run. Do this because you love them.

Personal ministry is about opening our hearts to others. We all have insecurities, doubts, and fears when it comes to sharing our story with people who do not yet know Jesus. God’s story is woven into our story so it is natural to share this part as well. For me, it helps to remember that I do not have to convince or convict anyone of their sin. This is the role of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Jesus, we simply have to go, listen, love, and be honest. Our responsibility is to create space for the Holy Spirit to move. We trust God to do what only God can do.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as inviting someone to your dinner table.

I hold an affinity for Nathanael, one of the first followers of Jesus. In fact, Nathanael is one of the original twelve called “Apostles” who journeyed with Jesus for three years. What I especially liked about Nate is his wit, as seen in his initial encounter with Jesus:

“The following day Jesus decided to go into Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me!” Philip was a man from Bethsaida, the town that Andrew and Peter came from. Now Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have discovered the man whom Moses wrote about in the Law and about whom the Prophets wrote too. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph and comes from Nazareth.”

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” retorted Nathanael. “You come and see,” replied Philip.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him and remarked, “Now here is a true man of Israel; there is no deceit in him!”

“How can you know me?” returned Nathanael. “When you were underneath that fig-tree,” replied Jesus, “before Philip called you, I saw you.”

At which Nathanael exclaimed, “Master, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel!”

“Do you believe in me,” replied Jesus, “because I said I had seen you underneath that fig-tree? You are going to see something greater than that! Believe me,” he added, “I tell you all that you will see Heaven wide open and God’s angels ascending and descending around the Son of Man!” (translated by J.B. Phillips)

Okay, now this is very funny! You may not have noticed this before because of the idea of Jesus having a sense of humor is foreign to most of us.

Nathanael was from Cana. Jesus was from Nazareth. The communities were about six miles apart. A brief conversation ensues. Almost immediately after Jesus mentioned seeing him under a fig tree, Nate has this incredible conversion. Scholars propose his dramatic realization of who Jesus was came on the heels of profound skepticism. I think Nathanael was already intrigued with Jesus and just determining whether this was someone to follow or not.

Humor, not cold skepticism. Like two people meeting who tease each other about the schools they attended…

While only six miles apart, Cana and Nazareth were probably rivals on everything from sports to girls to fights to high school academic bowls. Okay, they didn’t really have high schools back then. Nate’s quip might have been more steeped in a long pattern of neighborly competition with a nearby city as opposed to an impulsive, theological rejection of the possibility of a Messiah coming from Galilee.

His comment strikes me as a playful jab to which Jesus responded with a sparkle in his eye: “Behold an Israelite who says what he means” which implies this was not an unusual stereotype for people from Cana. Tit-for-tat. Talking smack. Sarcasm from the teacher to the new student. I think we are witnessing a moment of male bonding at its best. Jesus chides, “You believe in me because I said I saw you sitting under a tree?” (implied: “Seriously Dude?”) Certainly a smile or chuckle accompanied this retort.

Why would the thought of Jesus teasing with someone cause us concern? Is it so much easier for us to consider Jesus as the Son of God but not fully human? There are several other places in scripture that carry a similar playful tone. Fully God. Fully Human.

But even more significant than his wit, Jesus identifies Nathanael as a person without guile. Nate says what he thinks, without pretentiousness. What you see is exactly who he is. There is no hidden agenda so you never have to guess what is behind Nathanael’s comments.

I too am a follower of Jesus who was fully human yet the “visible expression of the invisible God.” Fully himself, both God and human… and a fan of those who are exactly as they appear, without guile.

Nathanael appeals to me because he exhibits priorities of transparency and authenticity. I have a deeply-held belief that honesty with oneself (and others) is the first requirement of emotional, relational, and even spiritual healing. Healing cannot begin until injury ceases. Keeping up a mask of pretentiousness, or anger, is a defense mechanism that prevents recovery. Healing begins by opening up and cleaning out the wounds`.

I make no pretensions of being perfect, not even close. But I do strive to be a believer in whom there is little guile. At a time when people are so filled with anger, as part of our fractured society, I will likely lose friends if I say or write something with which they disagree. I have a responsibility to my employer, and church, and family, to avoid public conflict, yet in my heart of hearts, I want to speak up with simplicity and clarity.

As I wander through this blog and share this wondering and wandering with you, will you give me the grace of friendship across our differences? I hope my thoughts hold some value and hope for you. At the very least, it will be therapeutic for me.

Maybe something good CAN come out of Nazareth. It certainly did for me. The wanderer named Jesus made all the difference for me. I hope he does for you.