Casandra Martin

Their request always touches my heart. Some Greeks approach one of Jesus’ disciples and make an appeal. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:21b)

As the cross nears and the cries that yesterday sang praises fade into whispers and suspicions, the request of the Greeks shines with simple faith. Seeing Jesus is at the heart of who we long to be and what we want to do. Every day should pulse with a desire to see His face, be in His presence, and experience His nearness. The Greeks do two things that teach us how to make these simple words a frame for our hearts.

First, they had a desire to see Jesus. The word ‘desire’ speaks to a longing or a craving. It is more than a passing idea, a whim, or a nice thought. A desire is something that develops from a hunger within us. What we desire speaks volumes about our priorities, our perspective, and our plans. We build our lives around our desires. We take journeys, spend money, invest time, develop talents, and make sacrifices in order to fulfill a desire. Desires are fed by our thoughts, our loves, our imaginations, and our attitudes. Our focus determines the intensity of our desire.

Second, they asked for help. They wanted to see Jesus, and knew that the best way to draw closer to Him was to ask someone who walked with Him daily. If we want to see Jesus, we need to follow their example. Too often, I hold my longings for a deeper relationship with Christ inside rather than asking for help. Maybe it is pride, busyness, fear, or inexperience, but I hesitate to approach those who I see walking closely with Jesus. It seems like too much of a risk to ask them to share their faith lessons with me.

My Jesus Resolution today is to ask to see Jesus. I want to develop a desire to see Him that burns away every other desire in my heart. I want the longing to see His face to drive my choices, my words, my priorities, my motives, and my focus. I am going to take a deep breath and ask for help in making this desire to see Him a reality in my life. I am going to tap into the wisdom of those whose Christ-like walk inspires me to be like Him. Today, I am going to pull on someone’s sleeve and whisper, “I wish to see Jesus.”