Then Jesus Glanced My Way

I was enjoying life and all it has to offer; sort of.
Opportunities in abundance, good times indeed; mostly.
Looking to the future, eager to grow; usually.
Worried, though, about missing something important;
Always.

What was this thing that held me back?
Why could I not fully enjoy what my friends enjoyed?
What was this piece of seriousness that muted the humor?
What is this sobriety that looms over simple frivolity,
threatening, dominating, overpowering, overcoming?

Then Jesus glanced my way.

I hardly noticed, but I noticed.
I tried to hide it. I said nothing in response.
I continued on my way, joking, jesting,
Looking to that bright yet dimly glowing future.

The world around me refused to be static.
Friends came, friends went, like passing trains.
At the end of each day, there remained
only a memory of transient interactions.

Is this, I wondered, all that life has to offer:
Memories of transient events,  some good,
some not so great?
"See you later, " I would say. But I knew I never would.
Are we all just living a lie? And where, I wondered,
is truth? Where is permanence?

Then Jesus glanced my way.

As was my habit, I dismissed him politely.
But it was less easy than before.
What was the source of my accumulated wisdom
which was leading me to this cynical summation:
Life is a sham. People are fake. It's all some kind of
conspiracy; but who are the conspirators?
And friends... What is a friend? Someone you once
had a good time with?

Then Jesus glanced my way.

Perhaps, I thought to myself, he is a friend.
After all, my friends are all gone,
and the ones who aren't, will likely go.
But Jesus has glanced my way. I wonder why…

And in that moment, capturing his glance,
I looked—by the grace of God—not away,
but into his eyes—eyes of fire, eyes of light, eyes of life.
Eyes of eternity.
Gone was the cynicism, gone was the desperation,
gone was the uncertainty, and in its place,
love, peace, and joy.

Oh, my friends, if I could describe
to you the essence of friendship with Jesus!
The permanence, the concreteness, the reality!

For I have found my friend,
and I will now, one day, die knowing Him,
knowing life, knowing eternity, owning reality.
Jesus, friend of sinners, friend of saints.
He is the friend. He is your friend. He is our friend.
Permanence, truth, and eternal reality have visited me, for

Jesus has glanced my way.