The Perfect Stranger

The Perfect Stranger 
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Recently a good internet friend sent me an email whose focus was:

“You HAVE lived if You can remember:
1-  It took three minutes for the TV to warm up,

2-  When a 25 cents was a decent allowance,

3-   You stopped for gas and you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time. And you didn't pay for air! And, you got trading stamps to boot!

4-  No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?

5-  A coke was a five cents for six ounces, and when RC Cola started selling ten ounces for six cents, it was most unbelievable and amazing!

6-  You pasted Green Trading Stamps in the Green Stamp book. "

And many others that many you have never lived to see.

But the one that struck me was: “Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

When reading this, for a couple of minutes, I was stuck on the words “a perfect stranger” and realized that is poor choice of words.  ‘perfect stranger’ is a  contradiction of words, an oxymoron.   This also brought to mind gregarious people that it was said of them, “He(she) never met a stranger for very long.”

There is no stranger that is perfect..... except... Jesus.  And, once you come to know Jesus he will not be a stranger very long, and you will not want Him to be a stranger.  In His days of serving people, people came quickly to recognize He was different, even His detractors commented this.  People who perhaps had never seen Him, but heard the stories of Him sought him out.  People as the rich man who wanted to know what he must do to be good (Matthew 19:16-26).  Or, the Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed who had heard of Jesus, and came begging for Him to help her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28).

In both of these situations, Jesus was likely a Perfect Stranger.  How we respond to Jesus determines if Jesus remains a ‘Perfect Stranger'.  In the first, the man did not like Jesus’  answer and rode off; in the second, Jesus saw her faith and granted her request (Matthew 15:21-28). 

What is important here, is how we approach Jesus.  The first had a specific request of Jesus with perhaps little faith and a lack of humility.  In the second, the ostracized woman came in faith worshiping Jesus, describing her need, but not asking for anything specific except, “Please Help me!”  In her faith, Jesus in that very hour made well her daughter.
The man came and left still not knowing of the Perfect Stranger, Jesus; in the second, she came knowing Jesus and in faith believing in His power, willing to accept what His blessing might be.  She left knowing Jesus not as a Perfect Stranger but knowing Him intimately as her Perfect Savior.  

Today, it is not logical for Jesus to be the Perfect Stranger; but, then many, many people are not very logical in their behaviors.  When we approach God in our prayers and requests, we cannot have preconceived answers when approaching God and we must be willing to submit to his Will in His answers to us.

Because of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus is Who He is,
   You Have Not Lived... 
       until you have known him as Your Perfect Savior.  

Thanks be to God.

© Lonnie Coggins        

                    

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lonnie 

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