Would you recognize Jesus if he appeared to you in a dream? What if he walked straight up to you on the street?
When Jesus first appeared, He was snubbed, ridiculed, and hung from a cross. The powers that be didn’t want to believe He was the Son of God. Would you be one of the people who scoffed? How do you know that man you bumped into at the store wasn’t Jesus? If he had been, would you have apologized?
Even after His death, people didn’t believe Jesus when he appeared. Believers didn’t realize it was Him even when He was right next to them. In Luke 24: 13-16, it reads: Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. It wasn’t until later at dinner they realized it was Jesus.
We often miss opportunities to spend with Jesus when He’s sitting right next to us. Don’t let those times go. He’s there with you wherever you are, whether it be in the car or on the bus. He might even be the store clerk who you were rude to this morning because you had to wait in a long line.
So be careful how you treat people. You never know when He might show up.