students of jesus

I’ve been intrigued lately with those things that impressed Jesus. Some things captured his attention. I’m not smart enough to present a systematic theology of God’s heart, but I know that he has one. I’ve seen it in the scripture, and I've seen in in my life. Have you? He stops the course of time and history and bends low to the affairs of men.

This Monday let me present my simple list of what catches God’s attention. If you meditate on these few suggestions, I’ll bet you could add a few more:

• The Father loves humility. It turns his head. But I’m quoting myself. You can read my view of a humble heart in last week’s post.
• Jesus was impressed by faith. When he encountered genuine trust, he never failed to point out how rare it can be. He usually discovered faith in the socially unacceptable places of his day, like women and foreigners (Matthew 8:10 and 15: 28 are two examples).
• Jesus stopped for the bold: A blind man screaming on the sidelines evoked this question from the Lord, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18: 35 - 43) Can you imagine Jesus interrupting his schedule to ask you--personally--”What do you want me to do for you?”
• Jesus defended outrageous acts of worship: When Mary crashed a party to lavish attention on Jesus other people criticized her impropriety. But Jesus said “Leave her alone.” (John 12:7) Do I pour out my passion in a way that would bring Jesus to my defense?

Jesus loved these traits. He rewarded them. But there is one human trait that never seemed to impress the Lord: our intelligence. True, I want every part of my being to serve the King, but one thing is sure: God is never impressed by anyone’s intellect, but he is frequently impressed with people’s hearts.