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Lessons From Jesus’ Visitation in Arabia
Jesus ". . .showed Himself alive. . . ." (Acts 1:3)
The following song was composed by a 10-year-old Muslim boy named M. Sulman and was taught to his fellow classmates. It was this cry for God that the children were singing when Jesus appeared simultaneously to them to shower them with His Presence, love and mercy:
I Am Blessed
I am blessed,
I am blessed Everyday of my life I am blessed.
When I wake up in the morning
And as I lay my head to rest,
I am blessed,
I am blessed.
More of you, more of you
Thirsty I cry,
God hear my cry I need more of you.
As the boys stood singing the beautiful words, "More of you... thirsty I cry," on a February morning during Ramadan, the Savior of the World entered the school to answer that cry. The large window of the corner classroom gently wafted with clouds, and then brilliant golden rays penetrated and finally shaped into the "beautiful," "strange," "gentleman," "special person." He held an "old book" with golden edges. They saw that the book was embossed with "HB," standing for Holy Bible. Jesus is the Word, and the Word is Him. (It is fascinating that a couple of these Muslim boys noted that Jesus was carrying a King James Version of the Holy Bible!)
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
Jesus stood there radiant before the children, gloriously combining the Word, the Bible, and His Presence, as a parable of Who He is--the Word of God!
It is notable that the headmistress, Sister George, had been crying out to God for many months before the Visitation occurred. She was a born-again believer, but she was desperate in her heart for personal Revival, to know more of the power of God. Her constant prayer had been, “Jesus, let me see your face!” Her prayer was answered beyond her wildest imaginations, when the Lord showed His face to her Muslim pupils!
"Now," say the teachers, "we know the Word (Holy Bible) is the only way to know Him." The Principal also cried, "How often have we not hesitated to sacrifice thousands of dollars to enter a university to seek worldly knowledge through the books of this perishing world while the most precious Book of Life lies ignored in some corner of your home? Parents, how many of you are now ready to give this divine wisdom to your children? Please turn aside and cast a simple glance at your Islamic brother. Literate or illiterate he may be, but his holy book has a special place in his house. The family members approach that book with reverence. They are taught the Koran from a very early age. Dear Christian brother, while the truth is locked in your chest, have you ever exposed the truth of your Holy Bible to your child with the same reverence? Does the Word of God have a special place in your home and in your heart? Are your children disobedient? Are they with the world and its wayward ways of drugs, drunkenness, lust and evil desires? Wake up! For the Word shall shape your child at a very tender age. Then your dreams regarding your child will become "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’ (Ecclesiastes 12:1) For if your child has known his Creator from the days of his youth, through the Word, he shall stand firm and bring blessing into your household.
His Garments
Jesus was stripped of His garments when He was made sin in our stead on the Cross. But after death, burial and His ascension, He is always appropriately arrayed in glorious garments. John saw Jesus clothed with a robe down to the feet (Revelation 1: 13).
The students called the Visitor’s garment a white "kandura" (robe). The boys also saw a green mantle, which is a heavenly reflection of the emerald rainbow that encircles the Throne of God (Revelation 4:3). [This revelation was especially fascinating to the author, since the heavenly vision I had received as a child was the compassionate healing Jesus wearing a white robe with green stripes, perhaps also reflective of the emerald rainbow circling God’s throne!]
In the Old Testament, the High Priest wore a diadem of pure gold (Exodus 28: 36-38). Jesus being the Heavenly High Priest wore fittingly, in the words of the children, "a golden bangle on his head."
The Triunity of God
The Triunity of God could not have been better explained by theologians than through this simple vision and the boys who declared, "I saw him as three; I did not know which of the three He was, but I saw him again as one." Praise be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One True God who manifests in Three Persons.
The Omnipresence of God
The vision had lasted only a few minutes but during that very short time, each boy felt that the Lord was personally beside him, touching him. "When He touched me, I felt like being washed with cold water," says the child. All the children, simultaneously saw, heard and felt the close proximity of His divine Presence. The Lord is omnipresent, here, there and everywhere, all around your home, in your country and in all the countries of this planet and in every nook of this universe. The mighty omnipresence of our omnipotent, omniscient Lord is awesome.
PRAYER: Lord and Master, how well you have taught us your divine omnipresence through this wondrous vision. We adore you, Jesus. Thank you that you promised never to leave us nor forsake us!
A Real Person
Our Lord Jesus is not some disembodied spirit, spread out, vague and formless, but He is very much a Person. By all these little children, He was seen in the vision as a Person, a concerned Person and a practical, loving Friend asking them what they needed. To their expressed desires He simply said, "It is done." His loving, beautiful and awesome Presence, beyond description, with a golden, radiant light around His head, yet with worn sandals on His divine feet represented a more simple form of a man. But as He walked around the class, wherever His divine feet moved, there were sparks of silver and gold. The old sandals remind us that Jesus is from the dateless past to the present and to the endless future as the great I AM. If His feet now walk on streets of gold, it is not surprising that his footprints were golden and full of light!
Fragrance and Living Waters in a Dry Land
Our Lord is the "rose of Sharon" (Song of Songs 2: 1); His Name is as “ointment poured forth” (Song of Songs 1: 3); and "all your robes are fragrant" (Psalm 45: 8). More than one of the children reported that His Presence brought the fragrance of "roses" or "flowers." His Word also washes us clean. Many recalled the sensation of cold water flowing through their hearts. This is very relevant for the dry, Arabian Peninsula and is surely a sign of our Lord who gives "living waters" to all who are thirsty. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4: 14).
A Parable in Demonstration
Another important lesson from the Arabian Visitation is an exemplification of Matthew 18: 3. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven." It must be carefully noted that while the children collectively saw the vision, the teacher (though very much present) had no idea what was happening! The boys did not know who "The Man" was, and so they cried aloud, "Teacher, the Man is touching you!" She did not see Him, neither did she hear Him! This valuable part of the Visitation is a parable of a very important truth: As we pray, His Presence is so close to us. But even as He touches us, we like this teacher, are not always receptive. In our hardened adult ways, we sadly often do not sense His mighty, beautiful Presence and touch.
But if we humble ourselves and become like tenderhearted children, we too shall have our spiritual senses opened to hear Him and to see Him face-to-face!
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION: Dear Heavenly and Merciful Father, in Jesus' Name I come to You. Take me as I am and make me what I ought to be in spirit, in soul, in body. I humble myself as a little child to put my faith right now in the Living Lord Jesus as my one and only Savior. I thank you that He died for my sins and that He was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead! Come, Holy Spirit, and live in me and guide me always. Give me power to do right. If I have wronged anyone, help me to repent, to confess, to restore. No matter what it costs, wash me now in the Blood of Jesus that I may become Your child forever and manifest You in a perfect spirit, a holy mind and a sickless body. In Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen
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