My kids went through a stage of loving the “Where’s Waldo?” books. They were large search-and-find books. You looked through intricately detailed pictures to find Waldo—a guy wearing a toque, a red and white striped shirt, and blue jeans.

Sometimes—actually, a lot of times—he’s hard to find.

Maybe it’s a strange comparison but Jesus can be like that—hard to find in our daily lives.

But what if we’re just in the habit of looking in the wrong places?

In the parable of the sheet and goats, Jesus teaches that whoever does good for those who are hungry, thirsty, a stranger, in need of clothes, sick, or in prison, is also doing it for the King in the parable, who represents Jesus: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Quite often, that’s how to find Jesus. There are other ways too. But this is definitely one of them.

Here’s a practical suggestion that’s related to people’s needs. It’s perhaps less “dramatic” than what Jesus listed, but it’s still a need. When someone is going through something difficult, don’t change the subject. Quite often, because we’re either not used to talking about difficult things, or because we’re just unsure about what to say, we shy away.

But what if that was an opportunity to find Jesus in your daily life? What if listening to someone share a burden and simply being a supportive friend, even if you don’t know the person super-well, was what they needed in that moment to see a bit of sun break through a sky of grey?

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

By Matthew Ruttan

–“Unless you become like little children.” That’s my latest sermon. Click here to watch on YouTube. “The key is to become child-like without being child-ish.”
–Bible quotes are from the NIV.