Amongst piles books and trash turned treasures, I met a woman who by pondering a thought aloud struck up a conversation between us. We soon realized we held some commonality in life including a mutual friend. With dewy alabaster skin and gentle eyes, she radiates with a peaceful and patient nature. Recently recovered from a heart transplant, her movements are purposeful yet measured for she claims the new heart of which she holds has given her the feeling of having a brand new body.

And the few times I have been in her presence I have walked away yearning to learn more about her life. Born into a Mafia family, she also married into a Mafia family living a life that one would expect to only see penned into a Hollywood movie script. She has survived not only the suicide of her father, but the suicide of her former husband in her very presence. Never feeling safe nor without watchful eyes, she was desperate for a new life away from the crime, abuse, and pain.

She was desperate for a new starting point.

In need of her heart transplant, she was put in the care of a doctor who not only helped her receive a new body, but helped to lead her down the path to receive a new soul. Her entire existence changed when encountered Jesus.

For most of us the journey begins with the simplest of questions. Who is this Jesus? Where did He come from? Where did He go? Why does He love us? Why does He care?

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”
Matthew 21:10

Jesus is the starting point. He is the beginning. He is the end. And everything in between is the journey. When you meet one who has encountered Him, one who has been healed from the sickness within their heart, one who has been restored from the destruction within their soul, there exists an excitement from within that cannot be contained.

Some try desperately to figure Him out. Some try desperately to disprove His existence. And some try desperately to ignore Him. But no matter how hard they may try in desperation, they simply cannot deny the excitement of so many around them. For the excitement they witness is the evidence of His arrival.

Father, thank you for your Son. Thank you for the One who stands between the gap that separates us. The crowd is growing anxious in fevered pitch awaiting the arrival of the One who will put this broken and dying world right once again. For those who do not know who Jesus is, for those who see the gap but do not know how to close it, and for those who teeter dangerously close to the edge of it, reveal yourself to them. In Jesus name, amen.